


The Brothers Trevelyan

by Knights_In_Dented_Armor



Series: The Mage Collective [3]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Humor, M/M, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-05-06 22:29:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5433137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knights_In_Dented_Armor/pseuds/Knights_In_Dented_Armor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Trevelyan's were always a close family. After the disaster at Haven, Evelyn was reminded just how much her family would do for her, whether she wants it or not. Her siblings invade Skyhold, and despite the fighting, mischief, and constant bickering, she's actually glad they came. Most of the time.</p>
<p>With her family at her side, Evelyn faces the trials of defeating Corypheus with a new vigor, though whether that's a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen.</p>
<p>-What Skyhold and the story line would have been like if Evelyn came from a large loving family that never left anyone behind. Follows the AU Universe of "The Mage Collective" Series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Invasion of Skyhold

“Excuse me, My Lady Inquisitor,” Ser Morris stood in the doorway of Josephine’s office, causing both of the women to look up from their notes. Josephine was coaching Evelyn how to write a proper correspondence with other nobles, and frankly Evelyn was thankful for the interruption.

“Yes?” Evelyn stretched her cramped muscles, quill still in hand. 

“You have some visitors and well, they wouldn’t say their names. Just wanted me to give you a message,” Ser Morris cleared his throat, his face turning red. “That they never got their invitations or summons to join the Inquisition, they all feel personally insulted and slighted that the only correspondence they received was to be told of your well being, and called you a terrible Princess.” The poor man looks so mortified to deliver such a message that his entire face resembled a tomato.

Evelyn’s face wasn’t that far behind, but embarrassment was not the cause of it. “I will kill them. I will bloody kill all of them.” She stood abruptly and marched out the room, her normally delicate and sweetly bemused face took on an expression that could only be described as murderous.

People literally moved aside from the furious mage that had magic seeping off of her in angry little tendrils.

She stopped at the top of the stairs to the courtyard, her worst fears confirmed right in front of her. Surrounded by several bulks of sacks and trunks stood the Brothers Trevelyan, terrors of the Free Marches.

The moment they saw her, all the brothers erupted in cheers, completely ignoring the anger that made the air around her colder. 

“EVIE!” Her younger brother Seamus rushed right at her and had scooped her up in a hug, which she was too angry to reciprocate despite how much she had missed them.

Seamus was easily the handsomest of her brothers, with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair tied back with a bit of leather and the same sparkling dove grey eyes as her own. The brothers all had a rule to never leave their girls alone with him, as they tended not to stay their girls. He was funny and charming, and for a moment she was distracted from her anger by how much taller and older he looked since she last saw him. Taking his role as a dashing rogue a little too seriously since he started university, he became the grifter of the group, able to infiltrate and feel at home in just about any situation thrown at him. Unfortunately, that made him an excellent liar as well.

Evelyn struggled in his grasp, pushing him away. “No, no, do not touch me! What do you all think you’re doing here?! I told you specifically to stay home and take care of Mama and Papa and the estate.”

“Oh okay, sure, we’ll leave our baby sister to fight demons and nearly die on us without ever knowing. Yea, sounds like a perfect plan,” Thomas crossed his arms, annoyance and exasperation etched on his face. “What did you expect us to do when we found out you almost died in Haven? This is the shit that happens when we’re not there.”

Thomas was the oldest Trevelyan brother, who’s entire life was essentially dedicated to keeping his brothers and sisters out of trouble. Anyone who knew the Trevelyans would recognize Thomas as the ringleader of Lord Redgrave Trevelyan’s children. He spent the first half of his life getting into trouble with his siblings and the other half getting his siblings out of trouble. It was a shame in some ways, as he was a very talented artist and could have actually made a name for himself if he ever used the time to dedicate himself to his work as he did to getting his siblings out of hot messes. That being said, there was no one Evelyn had ever met that was a more talented duelist than her older brother.The Trevelyans may be nobles now, but there is a long line of thieves, pirates, and criminals in their bloodline, and Thomas’s natural ability as a duelist was proof of that. He was tall, with steely green-grey eyes that pierced right into a person’s soul and the famous ‘Trevelyan Red’ curly hair. 

“I expected you to stay home and take care of the family! If I had needed you, I would have let you know. You have no right to just invade my fortress like this!” 

“Your fortress? Oh we’re so sorry Princess, we came here to join the Inquisition, we were told this was Inquisition headquarters, but obviously we’re mistaken.” Thomas threw his hands in the air in an exaggerated motion.

“In case you missed it in all the news you seem to have about me, I am the Inquisitor. I get the final say on who we can, and can’t bring into the Inquisition. Go. Home. All of you!” 

“Last I heard, the Inquisition is in no position to turn away recruits. Can you look us all in the eye and tell us we wouldn’t bring something useful, something you probably desperately need, to the Inquisition?” Eddie, her third oldest brother pointed out, a rare frown on his rugged features. The large hunting hound by his side seemed to huff in agreement with his owner. 

Edward, or Eddie as his friends and family called him, was the most unique looking out of all the Trevelyan boys. His hair was such a dark shade of red that unless anyone saw him in the sun, they would say he had black hair. He inherited their mother’s sparkling hazel eyes and easy smile. He was their resident “Wild Child”, so to speak. He spent more time outside than inside and had a true gift when it came to animals, as demonstrated by the hundreds of animals he would bring home to the Trevelyan estate. He was stockier than the rest of his brothers, with longer hair in thick dreads that stayed tied away from his face. 

“You brought your dog- dogs?! No. Eddie, I will not have all your dogs and- is that a wolf?!” Evelyn was convinced they wanted her to have a heart attack. Her brothers would do the job for Corypheus, and then the world would end and by the Maker she hoped the Archdemon would eat them first.

“Hey, they’re trained! It’s not like their going to run around and attack every noble that comes through. Unless I tell them to,” Eddie couldn’t keep his lips from cracking a grin at his baby sister, who was so furious the air around her started to form little snowflakes. 

“You’re avoiding Eddie’s question. You know what we can do, and you know we can help,” Kenneth pointed out, brushing his curls out of his face and glaring at his little sister.

Kenneth was only a year older than Evelyn, though you would never know by the way he acted. He was a hopeless gambler, his losses outnumbered his wins by such an astronomical amount that it was a wonder why he even counted his meager wins. He would bet to his last coin, and then move on to his clothes, his horse, and the family daggers. Kenneth had always lost the family daggers, and always had to steal them back. The only benefit of any of that was that it turned him into a master Shadow rogue. He had softer features than the rest of the brothers, with gentle light brown eyes and a mop of dark red curls. 

“What I know, is that you can’t be here!” It was the loudest anyone had ever heard the normally soft spoken Inquisitor speak since her and Cullen argued in Haven over the mage allies, and it was starting to attract attention.

“Um, Inquisitor, perhaps we can move this to the war room where you have a bit more privacy to settle any disputes,” Josephine said from behind Evelyn, using her soothing diplomatic voice to diffuse the situation. 

“Yea Evie, let’s do what the lovely lady says,” Seamus had his most charming smile on, eyes focused on Josephine with a familiar glimmer reflecting in them.

“Oh for Andraste’s sake. No.” She did a wonderful imitation of Poppy, their childhood nanny, when she shook her finger at Seamus. “Leave her alone. No. And we don’t need privacy, because they’re leaving. Have enough food packed for them to get back to Ostwick.”

“Like the void we’re leaving. You’re our damn sister, and we’re not going anywhere.” Thomas crossed his arms over his chest, furious gaze locked with his equally infuriated sister. 

A tense silence fell over the small group, the brothers looking back and forth between their sister and the eldest brother. Josephine was probably worried that they would have an all out screaming match at any second and Evelyn saw her shooing people away in the corner of her eye.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down when she felt a bit of snow land on her face. “War room. Now. Leave your things.” She turned on her heel and marched up the stairs, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. 

Cullen and Leliana were already in the war room, coordinating scout and troop movements most likely, when Evelyn stormed through the door.

“Sorry to interrupt, we’ll be out of your way soon. This should be a fairly quick conversation,” Evelyn shot a glare at Thomas, who only rolled his eyes at her.

Her poor advisors had no idea what they were about to witness. The moment the doors shut, the room erupted in yelling.

“You nearly died! Twice! You think we’re gonna let that happen a third time?!” Thomas’s voice echoed in war room.

“There is nothing you could have done! The first time was a fluke, the second time I had no choice!”

“Oh fuck that-”

“Seriously Evie you could have sent for us-”

“Oh sure, I should have just asked all the Red Templars and Corypheus politely to stop massacring us for about two weeks while I sent for my brothers. Maker, why didn’t I think of that?”

“For fucks sake Evie, that’s not what we meant and you know it.”

“No choice?! There is always a choice! These people let you go to your death! You think any of us will let you stay here by yourself with people who are clearly willing to throw you on the front lines to save their own hide?!”

“Oh, that is such a big pile of bullshit. If I hadn’t gone out there, we would have all been dead. That means not just me, all of the people at Haven would have lost their lives. I did what had to be done. And I don’t regret any of it.”

“Yea? Well that’s fan-fucking-tastic. How do you think the rest of us felt?” Eddie was getting as angry as his older brother. “Our sister, who we worked our ass off to keep safe from those fucking templar animals for years, nearly died. Haven fell, and for a whole month we thought you were dead. You know what that did to us?”

Evelyn’s shoulders drooped from their defensive stance. “Look, I’m sorry. If I had a way to get you news sooner, I would have used it. As you see, I’m fine. I’m surrounded by highly skilled people that won’t let me fail.”

Thomas slammed his hand on the table. “They already did! What part of ‘left for dead’ and ‘sacrificed’ do you not get? Did anyone else offer to be the one to distract this darkspawn magister? Did anyone else offer to stay behind in case there was a chance you would make it? Don’t bother telling me otherwise, I know the details. Five fucking days and no one sent out a search party or nothing. They’re fucking using you. You’re expendable to them, and you want us to leave you here with them watching your back? Ain’t gonna happen.” He glared at her advisers, daring them to speak.

Evelyn saw the guilty look cross Cullen’s face, her mind flashing back to the way he looked at her when she had walked out of the Chantry Hall to face Corypheus. 

“Any one of us would have gone to confront Corypheus if it meant saving the people under our care. He came for Evelyn, to him the rest was collateral damage. We never asked her to go out there,” Leliana said coolly, keeping her stance nonchalant despite being in a room of clearly angry men.

“We weren’t well prepared in Haven. The attack caught us all by surprise, and the last thing any of us expected was an archdemon. If Evelyn hadn’t done what she did, we would all be dead.” Cullen’s voice was steady, but she heard the heavy layer of regret and guilt laced in his commanding tone. 

“Yea? You always leave the people who gave their life for you behind?” Eddie’s biting tone was joined in by the hunting hound on his side letting out a low growl. 

Evelyn, for her part, finally calmed down. She knew her brothers to be foolishly overprotective and involved in her life, but she never considered the how the weight of all the events would affect her family. With all that had been going on, she didn’t consider that for a good month, her family thought her dead.

She had been lucky growing up, at least compared to most mages. Her father used his pull with the Chantry to arrange it so she could see her family quite often. Evelyn was allowed home on weekends, birthdays, holidays, and special occasions with minimal fuss from the Knight Commander. She realized it was not a privilege that came cheap.

Her brothers and sisters had always kept close relationships. The eldest looked after the youngest, and no sibling, either youngest or weakest, is ever left behind. When she had been taken to the Circle, her older brother Frankie enlisted in the Templers so he could watch over her. He went through years of grueling training just so he could watch over her and keep her safe in a place that many called a ‘fancy prison’.

Evelyn should have known how hard her brothers would have taken news that she may have died. Now that she had a chance to see past the red cloud of anger, she saw how weary all of them looked. Thomas looked like he had aged considerably since last year. His handsome, kind face looked exhausted and jaded, and his eyes held a fierce determination as they bored into her own. 

“Thomas, boys, listen to me.” Her voice was gentle again, dove grey eyes softening. “I chose to go out there. I watched people die to protect me. I saw our workers, people with no battle experience whatsoever, pick up swords and rush into the front lines. They were so proud of our cause, of what we were doing to fix the mess in Thedas. The Red Templars and Corypheus wiped them out without remorse. I watched small children in the Chantry crying because they couldn’t find their parents. I was angry.” Evelyn blinked back the tears that formed in her eyes, recounting that terrible day.

“Seeing so much death, all because this Elder One wanted to get to me, no one would have had a chance to stop me if they tried. I had no idea what would happen to me when I went out there. All I knew was that I would not let him take anymore of my people. They gave up their lives to help with the Inquisition, because they believed in what we’re doing, in what I was doing. Even if you had been there, I would have gone to face him alone.”

She watched her all her brothers taking in her words, the atmosphere in the room turning less hostile and more somber. 

“Evie, we’re not leaving you.” Kenneth said from his place leaning against the wall. “Remember what the Trevelyan Crest says? ‘Family Binds Never See Defeat.’ You’re not facing that monster without us.”

The rest of her brothers nodded in agreement, eyes never leaving her. 

Evelyn let out a deep breath, and looked over to her advisers. “Could you give us a moment alone? I promise we won’t keep you from your work too long.”

“Of course,” Josephine said, moving over to open the door. She looked relieved now that the yelling had stopped. 

When Cullen moved to go past her, he reached over to squeeze her hand in comfort, earning a small smile from Evelyn.

Unfortunately, it also earned him a suspicious glare from every one of her brothers.

She just sighed, giving them an exasperated look that clearly meant ‘Not now.”

Once Cullen closed the door, Evelyn began talking. “There are some things you need to know, and I doubt it’s something you would have heard in your reports. What I tell you cannot leave this room.”

And so she told them everything. She told them about the time magic, the things she had seen in the future, and the biggest thing of all she told them about the nightmares she had since the incident. 

The nightmares were difficult to talk about, but she had to tell them. She had dreamed of their deaths several times now, and would wake up in such a fit she actually ended up accidentally punching Dorian in the eye one time. She told them how she watched Corypheus use his demons to specifically slaughter her family. In her nightmares, she had watched her brothers fight fiercely, only to be overcome and ripped apart in the most violent ways.

“That’s why I can’t have you guys stay here. I don’t know if I can defeat this demon army as it is, if I have to worry about you guys as it is, I may be too distracted. I worry enough about you when you’re at home. With all of you here, how can I not second guess my every move, wonder if it will be the reason you meet your end.” She wrung her hands together, all her anger gone and in its place the fresh fear of those nightmares coming true.

“We’re not idiots Evie. We didn’t come here thinking it would be easy or safe,” Seamus said, slight smile. “Remember, we actually look for trouble.”

“Mother and Father are so proud of you, you know,” Kenneth added, moving to lean next to her on the table. “Father keeps telling everyone how his little mage takes after great-great grandmother Captain Talia Trevelyan, Pirate Queen of the Nine Seas. They were worried too, and couldn’t be happier that we came to join.”

“You had to have known we would show up soon. We would never abandon each other,” Eddie pointed out, the anger gone and his more calm and easygoing nature back in place.

“There’s one more thing,” Evelyn swallowed hard and looked at the faces of the men she loved so much. The faces that had been her source of safety all these years, and telling them the next thing might change everything for them. “I don’t know if I will get out of this alive. I have every intention to stop Corypheus, but we don’t know enough about him yet to know what it would take to defeat him. If me dying is what it takes, then that is what will happen. And I will need to ask you to let it happen if it means he is destroyed.”

A heavy silence fell upon the room, the brothers all taking in this piece of news as Evelyn wrung her hands anxiously. It was a lot of information for them to process, and the possibility of being alright with a death was a heavy request.

Thomas had been quiet ever since Evelyn started talking, thoughtful look on his face as he reflected on everything he had just learned. He was the worrier, the one who looked out for all of them and always came up with a plan to get them out of trouble. The trouble they faced now was not something Thomas could really help with.

“Evie,” He began slowly, considering his words. “This creature hurt you. Tried to kill you twice, and killed many others. He needs to be destroyed, and if you’re the one that has to do it, you will succeed.” 

Thomas straightened his back, his gentle eyes steely in determination. “We’re going to help you succeed. You need all the help you can get, and you can trust us to do everything we can to kill that piece of shit. You’re a Trevelyan, and Trevelyan’s always come out on top. You’ll defeat him and you’ll live.” He said it so fiercely that Evelyn found herself believing him.

“Okay,” she said quietly, her lips quirking in a small smile.

Thomas nodded his head in satisfaction. “Alright then. We’re good then yea? No more arguments about us leaving right?” 

Evelyn nodded, her lips formed in the same soft smile that was familiar to all of them.

“Good. Now come here, kiddo.” 

Thomas reached for her and pulled her right into a warm hug, arms wrapped around her tight and her face pressed into his chest. The familiar embrace felt so safe that for one precious moment, Evelyn felt like she was still nine and her brothers could keep her safe from anything. Thomas always smelled like fresh dirt and smoke, and every time she would get a whiff of either, it made her homesick.

She clung to him, letting him play protective older brother and smiling. No matter how much she feared for their safety, she couldn’t deny that having them there made her feel much better.

“By the way, where is Frankie?”

She felt Thomas stiffen in her arms, and moved her head far enough to catch the uneasy look that settled on his face. 

A sinking feeling fell in her stomach. “Where’s Frankie?” Her voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper, heavy with fear.

Frankie was six years older than Evelyn, and she absolutely adored him. She started showing signs of magic when she was eight years old, and her parents were only able to keep her out of the Circle for another year. The moment they found out she would have to leave them, Frankie signed up for Templar training. Her parents and relatives, were of course thrilled. House Trevelyan was heavily involved with the Chantry, though not as much for their devout beliefs as the Chantry liked to believe. They liked having the significant amount of pull over an Institution as powerful as the Chantry, so most of her cousins and even a few of her siblings were encouraged to serve the Chantry one way or another. It gave her family heavy sway within it, and it allowed her parents to pull strings to make sure that Evelyn would be placed in the Ostwick Circle and that her brother would be stationed there with her. Frankie was rash and outgoing, absolutely fearless. The shortest of her older brothers, he never quite grew correctly after a childhood accident left him with a bum knee, but you would never know it by the way he moved. He was at the top of his training class in his sword and dagger training, and used his bad knee to his advantage. His fighting style was just like his personality: brash and forceful, as fierce as a spring storm. Frankie had pale blue eyes that always glinted dangerously, and he kept his strawberry blonde sheared close to the scalp. 

Evelyn owed everything to him. He was her solace in the circle, her protector. He kept her safe from the more deranged Templars, and when he found out what they were doing to Elle, he orchestrated her whole escape, with the help of the rest of their siblings. Frankie even took the time to give Elle an opportunity of payback to the deranged templars that abused her before he smuggled her out. He would, and had, killed to protect Evelyn from the corruption and abuse in the Circle. Even after the Circles disbanded, Frankie took the time to make sure she was safe with the Rebels before he went back home to throw any templars off her trail.

The thought that anything could happen to him caused her insides to freeze.

“Get that look off your face Evie, he’s not dead,” Kenneth said quickly. Evelyn’s skin had paled in fright, and her delicate features and seemingly fragile outlook tended to bring out the worry in her brothers.

“He’s fine,” Thomas gave his brother a look. “He’s-”

The doors to the War Room banged open, a smirking Frankie standing right in the center. “Right fucking here.” 

Evelyn let out a loud shriek of joy and launched herself right into his arms. Frankie was only an inch taller than her, but he lifted her right up and spun her around, holding her tight. He never complained about his bum knee, and with his attitude and nonstop movement, you would never know he even had one.

She buried her face right in his neck, hugging him so tight that she was surprised he could even breath.

“There’s my Princess. Maker did I miss you Evie.” Frankie muttered into her neck.setting her down on her feet. He grabbed her shoulders and held her back to get a good look at her.

“Damn, still pretty as ever. Guess I’m back to beating horny templars and soldiers off with my sword,” Frankie's infamous smirk was plastered on his face. There was nothing gentle about him; he was as dangerous as the volcanic arcium sword that he carried on his back. 

“Don’t you dare. I’m the Inquisitor now, I can’t have my brother stabbing anyone that looks at me.” Evelyn beamed at the sight of him, yet a part of her couldn’t help but note the drastic changes in him.

The malignant glint in his pale blue eyes dulled, replaced with a sort of crazed desperation . His skin took on an ashen color, as if he had not been eating enough. His once shiny strawberry blonde hair had grown shaggy and lackluster. Evelyn could feel that he lost weight. 

Frankie may have been alive, but he certainly wasn’t fine.

“What happened to you?” She smoothed his tangled hair out of his face, worried eyes scanning his face.

He of course, brushed off her concern in his usual nonchalant manner. “What, you trying to be Mother now? This is what happens when you make your family worry. It’s all your fault.” Frankie used his fist to give her a gently cuff on on the cheek.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Thomas shoot a venomous glare at Frankie. Kenneth was looking down at the shoes, and Seamus had his arms crossed. Eddie caught her glance and shook his head subtly, pushing back any questions Evelyn was ready to ask.

They were keeping something from her, and not for the first time Evelyn found herself wishing that her brothers would stop trying to protect her so much from the ongoings in the family.

She moved her arm around Frankie’s waist, grinning at the rest of her brothers. “Being that you’re staying here, I suppose I should get you settled and introduce you to everyone you’ll be working with.” Evelyn paused, remembering the disaster of an introduction that occurred earlier that day with Zevran and Archer. 

Her eyes landed accusingly on Seamus. “You. Any recent scorned women I should know about?”

Seamus threw his hands up in defense, causing a wave of snickering from her brothers.


	2. Unforgivable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn surprises her brothers with a figure from their past. It still doesn't mean that they will forgive anyone who they feel wronged their sister.
> 
> It's safe to say that Evelyn has her hands full.

Getting her brothers settled was the easiest part of the day. Josephine was quite accommodating, arranging for her brothers to stay in the unused guest suites that had just been built. After a brief argument, Eddie conceded to staying in the barn with all his dogs and his mare. Evelyn adored his dogs, but she was fairly sure Josephine was ready to faint at the idea of dogs running around inside the great hall with all their visitors and dignitaries.

In their usual fashion, they insisted on meeting every single person in her inner circle. Seeing their reunion with Elle made her headache worth it.

From the moment Elle had been brought into the Circle, they were instant friends. They mainly bonded because they were one of the youngest members of the Circle, but they were soon inseparable. It wasn’t long before Evelyn had begged her father to find a way to allow Elle to come home with her for weekends and celebrations. Just like that, she had become an honorary Trevelyan. Her natural penchant for mischief made her an instant hit with the Trevelyan siblings, and they immediately embraced her into their fold. They were the first positive experiences that Elle ever had with humans, and gave her a sense of family.

Her family adored the little redheaded elf, and from the moment she met them she would accompany Elle home every time. The two girls tagged along with the other siblings, and their memories were filled with sneaking on rooftops, sailing on Bann Trevelyan’s ship, and a dozen or so parties. The Brothers Trevelyan had a reputation for sneaking into the homes of corrupt nobles while they were on holiday and absolutely trashing the place. They threw parties that became legend, inviting every peasant they could, leaving the place a complete wreck, and offering whatever servants that occupied the grounds a new job to escape punishment. Frankie, Eddie, her second older brother Zachary, and a reluctant Thomas always ended up hosting and organizing these events, but no authority could ever prove it. Evelyn was never privy to the details of why these elaborate schemes were concocted, but she never complained.

Those years were absolute bliss, and then one year right after Wintersend everything had changed. Elle had become withdrawn, stopped her troublesome antics, and started avoiding Evelyn and her family at all costs. It was Evelyn who found out why, having come back to the Tower earlier than expected only to see three templars leaving her and Elle’s room. Frankie had pulled her out of sight until the templars passed her. When they went to her room, the sight that greeted them was sickening. Evelyn would never, ever forget the sight of her best friend on the floor, limp and naked in a sobbing mess. The truth had come out, and Frankie used all the restraint he had not to kill those templars.

That was the night that changed everything. Two days later, the Brothers Trevelyan organized an escape like no other. They managed to start a riot outside the tower, starting the rumor that it was the templars, not bandits, who were responsible for destroying the silos in town. In all the chaos, Elle made her escape. Not before Frankie led her into a room that held the two of the three templars that terrorized her for over a year. He had told Evelyn later as much as he wanted to kill them, it wasn’t his place.

Eddie and Kenneth took Elle away. They were gone for over a year, tracking down her clan all over Thedas. Evelyn had missed her terribly, and the only good thing that came from the Conclave was that they reunited. And now her brothers would get the chance as well.

“I have a surprise for you,” Evelyn stopped them at the bottom of the stairs in the courtyard, squinting her eyes across the field to see Elle and Hawke training with knives again.

“It better be a cask or five,” Frankie slung his arm around his sister.

“Better.” She stopped them a short distance away. “See anyone you know?”

Frankie recognized her instantly, his sneer brightening into a smile that’s been absent on his face since Elle left.

“No fucking way.” He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “ELLIE!”

Elle whipped her head around, beaded dreads flying around her and froze. Her face shifted from disbelief, to a smile so wide that it transformed her entire face.

Without a word, she dropped her knives and ran so fast toward them that her feet barely touched the ground. Elle leaped right into Frankie’s waiting arms, wrapping her hands around his neck and legs around his chest, holding him tightly despite nearly knocking him to the ground. She buried her face in his neck.

Frankie held her just as tightly, and Evelyn had to blink back the tears that pricked her eyes. The last time they were all together was under the worst circumstances. Frankie had been so distressed, blaming himself for not finding out sooner, for letting Elle get hurt. Her brothers all made peace that they would probably never see her again because of the danger of an escaped mage, making this reunion all that much more emotional.

“Holy shit, did I miss you,” Frankie mumbled into her neck, hugging her a minute long before prying her away to set her down. When Elle pulled away, her eyes were wet and the kohl was smudging around bright green eyes.

“I can’t believe you guys are here!”

Frankie kissed her forehead, his eyes closing in contentment. “I told you we’d meet again.”

She tried to wipe her eyes without making a mess, but that only lasted a moment before she moved to throw her arms around Eddie.

“Maker’s breath, look at you!” Thomas was grinning so widely that it looked almost goofy, well goofy for him since he rarely smiled to begin with. “Our little Ellie, all grown up and tattooed. And look Eddie, she’s copying you.” He picked up a thin dread, using it to tickle her face.

“Course she is, who do you think did them for her in the first place?” Eddie ruffled her hair. “I can’t believe you kept them in. Your hair is so long now. How the hell do you get anything done?”

“I manage.” Elle’s green eyes absolutely sparkled. Gone was the indifferent attitude that most of those stationed in Skyhold were used to seeing, and for once people saw Elle as those closest to her only saw in private. She was open and affectionate, embracing each of the human men in front of her so tightly that even Sera’s mouth dropped open.

“By the Dread Wolf, Seamus!” Elle looked up at him, hands framing his face. “Last time I saw you, you were as tall as me. Now you’re as tall as Thomas.”

Seamus preened, shaking his hair back and puffing out his chest. “Yea, officially took the title of best looking Trevelyan. It was bound to happen,” he teased, using his arm to bring her close.

Evelyn watched the five catch up, Kenneth spinning her around, enticing her rarely heard laughter to echo through the courtyard.

“Hawke, what are you doing?” Sera said from beside her. Hawke had a piece of parchment and was scribbling furiously on it.

“Sending a very detailed letter to Isabella. She’s going to be absolutely furious when she finds out the Trevelyan brothers are here.” Hawke looked up to meet Evelyn’s curious gaze. “Oh don’t look so surprised, I was a mercenary for years, you have no idea how many times a noble tried to take a contract out on catching your brothers in the act, only to have the mercenaries disappear and the nobles home ransacked beyond repair. Isabella is a huge fan.”

“My friends talk about them all the time. They cause a right shit storm for a bunch of hogwashed nobles that they may as well be the Friends of the friends of Red Jenny. Or whatever,” Sera grinned when Elle shrieked in delight when Eddie’s dogs all surrounded Elle.

“Puppies!” She ran right to the dogs, joining Elle in the avalanche of the unique affection only a dog could give.

“I suppose that’s the end of today’s lesson. I’[ll never get her to concentrate now,” Hawke sheathed daggers and picked up the ones Elle had been using. “Come Inquisitor, introduce me to your handsome brothers so I have a story to tell Fenris and get him all possessive. That’s always been my favorite.” She grinned wickedly at the redhead, running a hand through her ebony fringe.

As Evelyn predicted, her brothers gathered a crowd in the tavern. Their reputation preceded them, and in no time they took over the corner tables by the bar. Her inner circle were eager to know her family, and she couldn’t help but be thrilled by it.

As worried as she was for her brothers being so close to the danger, she couldn't deny that it brought her immense comfort and satisfaction to see them there, interacting with the closest friends she had ever known.

Evelyn sat sideways in her chair and leaned tiredly against Dorian, quietly observing Seamus, Eddie, and Kenneth regaling the group with stories, along with a quip or two from Frankie. She knew how charming her brothers could be, and most of her friends were already utterly smitten. 

She could practically see Varric mentally writing down the tales of the Trevelyan Brothers, Chapter One: the Naked Grand Cleric. Sera was laughing so hard she had tears running down her face.

Zevran and Hawke sat together, and they were both just laughing it up. Despite the tense meeting earlier, Zevran had no trouble finding a place in their mismatched group. Evelyn could admit that he was extremely handsome and such a shameless flirt that he even managed to make Sera blush. It tickled her even more that her brothers knew him from previous heists, and judging from the initial reaction Eddie had when he saw him, she could guess where else he knew him from. 

Elle sat in her usual place on Iron Bull’s lap, laughing so hard that if Iron Bull hadn’t kept a hand on her thigh she probably would have fallen off by now. Evelyn couldn’t believe how much like her old self she seemed. Since her and Iron Bull got together, a lot of that had come back. She started smiling more, become warmer to strangers, and hadn’t glared at the Templar recruits nearly as much as she did before. With her brothers here, Elle allowed herself to laugh in such a carefree way that for moments at a time Evelyn saw her at fifteen, with long wavy red hair, freckles covering her face instead of the tattoos, and body free of markings. 

Iron Bull seemed at ease as usual, but Evelyn knew that he was studying her brothers the way he studied everyone he met. For someone with only one eye, he saw more than most people did with both eyes. She had no idea what he would glean from her brothers, though it didn’t take someone with Iron Bull’s skills to see the dark and indifferent expression on Thomas’s face. He hadn’t said a word since they sat down, barely suppressing his anger. 

“And to this day, Olivia swears that the Grand Cleric wore nothing under that robe,” Eddie was trying to keep from laughing too hard so he could get the story out. “Mind you, this all happened the week before my lovely twin decided to get hitched.”

Varric slapped his knee, almost spitting his drink out. “Don’t tell me the Grand Cleric performed the ceremony?”

“Oh yes she did. And a beautiful ceremony it was.” Eddie motioned the bartender to bring him another ale. 

“Or it woulda been if people were trying so hard not to laugh. Most of them failed.” Kenneth added, reaching over and pushing Seamus’s arm off of Sera.

Elle reached over and casually smacked Seamus on the back of the head. “I can’t believe Liv is married. She used to say the only way she would marry was if she was brought to the Chantry bound and gagged and without any of her knives.” 

“That was the plan, until Lord Gideon Locke of Antiva showed up four years ago.” Kenneth grabbed his chest and exaggeratedly fluttered his eyes. “He was just so handsome and dashing, Liv but all had a repeat of the Grand Cleric incident and ran at him naked. Course he was just smitten, and made it his goal to marry her.”

“I can’t imagine Liv was too happy with that. Or you guys for that matter.” Elle moved Iron Bull’s hand down so she could steal a sip of his drink. 

“Fuck no. We did everything we could to get rid of him,” Seamus said, nodding gravely along with his brothers.

“Threatened him.”

“Threatened his family.”

“Threatened his assets.”

“Stole his assets.”

“Gave him a beatdown.”

“Even got Evie to put the moves on him.”

A bitten bread roll hit Seamus right in the eye, Evelyn glaring at him. “I did not put the moves on him. You wanted me to because you wanted to find out if he wanted the Trevelyan name or Olivia. All I did was ask him what his intentions were toward my only older sister.”

“Yea okay Evie, we were watching. You had that sweet smile and big grey eyes all a-flutter. Do you know how many guys we had to give a beat down to because you ‘talk’ to them? I don’t know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that you don’t realize the effect you have on men,” Frankie glanced over at Dorian as he said that, and Evelyn snorted into her cup. She’d fill him in later.

“Anyways,” Evelyn said loudly, shooting an amused look at Frankie. “Lord Gideon could not be swayed. Even Olivia put up a fight against marriage. She had him moving around so fast he was going in circles. Finally he ordered her to get married to him. Told him he refuses to ask her on the grounds that it gives her a chance to say no, and he didn’t want to hear another word about it. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly the right attitude to handle Liv.”

“Yeah, go figure she finds the one guy that won’t put up with her shit.”

“I grew up with Gideon Locke,” Josephine said, dark brown eyes dancing in laughter. “He was the most stubborn boy I ever met, and such a rake. His parents didn’t ever expect him to get married. I knew he married a Trevelyan, but I had no idea she was your sister.” She sighed, taking a neat sip of her wine. “I so wanted to go to the wedding, but I couldn’t get there on such short notice.”

“It was a hell of a wedding. You should have heard the cheers when it was time for the bedding. I had to shut my eyes as Olivia poorly dodged the groomsmen. She was practically in her small clothes by the end, and I’m fairly sure she did it on purpose.” Seamus’s eyes sparkled when he saw the scandalized look on Josephine’s face. “We Trevelyans, we haven’t quite let go of some old traditions you see.”

“Well Dollface, I’ll be looking forward to my invitation to your wedding,” Varric winked at Evelyn, her smile widening. 

“Oh me too. I’ve always wanted to go to a Marcher’s wedding,” Dorian added, squeezing Evelyn’s side. “Can they really last for a week? I don’t know if I have enough formal wear for such a thing.”

Evelyn rested her head on his shoulder, tilting her head up to smile. “I fully expect you to have an active role in it, so don’t worry about the outfits.” At that point in their friendship, Evelyn couldn’t even dream of any major life events without him present.

A scoff from Thomas caused all the eyes in the group to land on him. “Something to add, Thomas?” Evelyn’s stormy grey eyes narrowed in warning.

Thomas took a swig of his ale. “Oh you know, just find it a bit funny that’s all. I mean, you were left for dead without a backward glance or any effort to save you, and now you’re inviting them to your future wedding.”

All conversation stopped, and the silence in the group became so heavy it almost drowned out the background noise. 

“Thomas, we talked about this. I told you it was my choice. Let it go.” Evelyn’s voice was a controlled calm, her rarely seen temper was barely being held in check. As much as she loved her family, they had the gift of bringing out a temper that most others didn’t realize she even had.

“Yea. Your choice to stay behind and let others escape. It was their choice to not look for you. Their choice to leave you for dead.” His voice was drenched in disgust and anger, green-grey eyes flashing. 

“You will not speak to them like that!” Evelyn kept herself from raising her voice. “These people have saved my life countless of times. Had it not been for them, I would have been dead long before Haven.”

“That’s all well and good, considering you probably returned the favor. And when you made the ultimate sacrifice, when you walked toward death, where the fuck did all these people who saved your life end up?!” He wouldn’t even look at her friends, focusing his glare on her. 

“They did exactly what I told them to. I told them to leave!’

“And they listened!” Thomas slammed his glass on the table so hard it shattered, a silence coming over the tavern. “You don’t leave somebody you care about behind. Don’t you get it? These people don’t give a shit about you. They’ll beg and plead for you to save them, and you’ll do it, cause Maker help me you have the biggest heart I know. When the time came that you needed rescuing, no one bothered to come back for you. Not even to check if you were alive!”

Varric snorted, breaking the terse silence. “Are you out of your damned mind? Over a hundred people died that day, laying down their life to keep the Red Templars from getting to your sister. What, you think they did that just for the fun of it?”

“None of that explains why no one went back for her. Why she nearly froze to death wandering around for almost five days despite the fact that there are a ton of scouts in the Inquisition,” Thomas spat, never taking his eyes off of her.

“A mountain fell on me!” Evelyn’s musical voice raised in anger. “They had no idea there would be anything to go back for! The Red Templars were still on the move, and going back would have risked my sacrifice being for nothing.”

“I don’t see that as a big enough risk to not send a small search party. They failed you!” He swept his arm to indicate everyone around them. “But I’m not gonna. Neither will the rest of your family, cause we don’t leave each other behind. Ever.”

Before anyone could get another word in, Thomas stormed out of the tavern. Only then did Evelyn realize that she was standing and shaking in anger. She moved to go after him, but was stopped by Kenneth’s hand on her arm, shaking his head solemnly. “Don’t. Leave him for now.”

Evelyn slumped down into her seat, resting her elbows on her knees and covering her face with her hands. She felt Dorian’s familiar touch rubbing comforting circles on her back.

“Shit,” Sera blew out a large breath. “Your brother is really mad. I mean I get it, sorta. I was right pissed cause most of us didn’t know you were staying behind.”

“Hell, most of us thought that was the end. We were all preparing to die,” Varric added.

“The circumstances were pressing. Our only goal was to get what was left of our people as far away from Corypheus and the Red Templars. We had so many people who were nowhere near as skilled to stand up to him…” Josephine’s voice trailed off, uneasiness evident in her tone.

No one at the table said anything for a moment, a mixture of distress and guilt surrounded them.

Elle’s voice broke the silence. “Do all of you feel that way? That we abandoned Evie to die?” Her voice was quiet and heavy, the kind of voice she only had when something was weighing on her mind. 

“You gotta understand Ellie, for over a month we thought Evie was dead,” Frankie’s naturally sardonic voice was laced with agitation. “You know all the shit we did to protect her. Hell, we were a day away from our journey to Haven when we heard the news. It messed us up pretty bad. Thomas took it really hard, cause you know how he is about protecting the family. Eddie disappeared into the woods for a week, and I’m pretty sure the rest of us spent a few weeks in a drunken haze. Mother wouldn’t stop crying, and Father didn’t say a word to anyone for a good while. We were wrecks.”

“When we found out she was alive and then found out exactly what happened, can you really blame us for being angry?” Seamus’s voice lost the easygoing tone, replaced with a deep held sorrow. “All we kept saying is that it would have been different if we were there.”

“Leaving her to face him wasn’t easy for us.” Dorian continued rubbing her back, his voice filled with regret. “There was a terrible blizzard, and even then the few that wanted to go back were forbidden. For all we knew, the Red Templars were digging around in Haven, and we couldn’t risk going there and then accidentally leading back to the camp.”

Evelyn took a deep breath and let her hands fall from her face. “Stop. I don’t blame any of you.” She looked around at all her friends in turn, her eyes stopping on Dorian. They may not have known each other as long as she knew everyone else around her, but their bond was immensely strong. After the events at Redcliffe, the night terrors, and the confrontation with his father, their bond was deeper than she thought possible to have with someone outside of family.

“You did what was needed. What had to be done.” She took Dorian’s free hand and squeezed it, bringing it to her knee and wrapping both her hands around it. “I have no regrets, and I hold no anger toward any of you. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t have done anything different and I hope none of you would either.” She brought his hand up and leaned her forehead against the back of his hand, fingers laced tightly with her own. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself knowing the even after I nearly died, Corypheus still destroyed you. We saw what that future was like, and I will do anything, and I do mean anything to keep it from happening.”

She brought her head up and looked at her remaining brothers. “This is the last time we’re talking about this. There is nothing to talk about, and everything worked out so far the way it should have. Do not go blaming these people for something that they had no choice in. No Frankie, don’t give me that look, there was no other way. Are we clear?” 

Eddie and Frankie scowled at her while Seamus and Kenneth looked resigned. Eddie didn’t say a word, just got up and pushed his chair back. “I’m going to find Thomas.” He left so fast no one could get a word in, especially when a few of his dogs scrambled to follow him out.

Frankie lifted himself off with a bit of effort, shooting a glare at his sister. “You don’t get to say when we get over it.” He reached over and squeezed Elle’s knee before following his brother out.

Evelyn’s head fell back in exasperation. “Everyone, my wonderful brothers.” 

“Aw shucks, we love you too baby sister.” Kenneth reached over and ruffled her hair. 

“You know, once you get to know them, they’re pretty nice. Funny even.” Seamus’s easy smile was back on his face. “They’ll get over it. Or deal with it. Just give them a bit of time.”

Elle pushed Iron Bull’s arm off her, guarded indifferent expression back on her face and she mumbled something about finding Archer. She rushed away from them, and Evelyn saw Iron Bull sigh in displeasure. 

It was the mark of the whole group dispersing. Josephine excused herself to finish some work, and Sera walked with her so she could go to the armory and visit with Dagna. Varric convinced Seamus and Kenneth to join Hawke and him in a game of Diamondback and Zevran disappeared, claiming he was tired from his journey. 

That left Dorian, Iron Bull and Evelyn, sitting at the bar and consuming drink after drink. 

“You believe me when I say I’m not upset with you right?” Evelyn was certainly tipsy, had one arm on Iron Bull’s shoulder and leaned most of her body weight on Dorian.

“Yea we believe you Boss. Your brother knows how to lay on the guilt though.” Iron Bull took a long sip of his ale. 

“Guilt? That’s putting it lightly. Made me feel like a cold blooded murderer.” Dorian motioned for Cabot to pour him another whiskey.

“Well you’re not. You’re both my protectors. My Demon Destroyers, my Venatori Slayers.” She leaned up and kissed Dorian and then Iron Bull on the cheek. Evelyn had always been quite an affectionate drunk, and with each glass of mead she was getting to that stage fairly steadily.

Dorian, being Evelyn’s most frequent drinking partner, was used it, but Iron Bull looked utterly amused. “Anything for you Boss.”

Evelyn stared at the row of bottles in front of them, having the sense to take slow sips since her head was getting fuzzy. “I love my brothers. And I love all of you. They’ll see that they’re wrong. They just try too hard to take care of me.” A scowl twisted her delicate doll like features. “They spend too much time finding ways to protect me.”

“Well they’ve obviously never seen you fight. You rarely need protection out there. I can only count a handful of times where you were even hit.” Dorian scoffed, nudging Evelyn gently. “You my dear, are the very definition of appearance being deceiving.”

“You kick ass Boss, but family means a lot to your brothers. They’ll want to protect you even if you’re as powerful as Corypheus.” Iron Bull looked at something over Evelyn’s shoulder, causing her to turn and catch a glimpse of Archer and Elle leaving the tavern with bottle of wine in hand.

Dorian snorted. “What does a Qunari know about families? You never even knew your mother.”

Iron Bull shrugged, eyes still on Elle’s form departing from the tavern. “You don’t need to have parents to have a family.”

Evelyn smiled softly in an odd moment of clarity in her tipsy haze. She swirled the drink in her glass, fixated on it for a moment before looking up at Iron Bull. “Elle is my family too, you know.”

Iron Bull took his eyes away from the door and looked down at her, eyebrow quirked up just the slightest bit and amused smile stretching his mouth. “Yea I know. Is this the part where you tell me you if I hurt her you fry me? Cause I already got a similar speech from Archer, Sera, Krem, Skinner, and Varric. Elle’s got a way about her.”

“No, I know you won’t hurt her.” Evelyn smiled prettily, and Iron Bull gave her an odd look. “It’s not as hard to read you when you’re with her. I take it Ben-Hassrath training never covered Dalish redheads?”

Iron Bull threw his head back, his rich baritone laugh ringing out among the crowded tavern. “Yea, probably a good thing. I would have failed that lesson.”

Evelyn grabbed the pitcher of ale and refilled his drink. “Give her some great memories.” With one last smile, she averted her eyes and stared into her drink. It wasn’t often that someone managed to surprise Iron Bull with a response. Half the time it seemed like he knew what a person would say before they even said it. She couldn’t help but be a little smug at that.

“So,” Iron Bull returned the favor for Evelyn and had Cabot top off her glass. “Your brother, the ex templar?”

Both Dorian and Evelyn looked at him curiously. “Yes… what about him?” Her eyebrows rose elegantly in interest.

“How long’s he been in love with Elle?” 

Dorian spit his drink out all over the bar.


	3. Thomas Trusts No One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is no secret that Thomas carries a lot of resentment toward the Inquisition because he feels they failed his sister. The only one he trusts less than anyone Evelyn's inner circle is her adviser, Commander Cullen, Former Knight Captain of the Kirkwall Circle. Just what is an ex templar doing with his mage sister? He intends to find out.

A few weeks had passed since the Trevelyan Brothers arrived at Skyhold, and everyone was getting used to their presence. Eddie’s animals ran around the Skyhold grounds, and occasionally in the grand hall, much to the outrage of the Inquisition Ambassador. Meanwhile the Commander and Eddie were making plans to train dogs to fight demons alongside the soldiers.

Kenneth had made quite a name for himself among the soldiers; talk of his terrible gambling habit spread across the barracks. He never won a game in his life, and the only way he won back any money or his daggers was making the bet that he could steal them back without being caught. Evelyn was so furious with him for having the gall to bet a personal dinner with her that she had Kenneth muck the stables and on laundry duty for a week. He kept her out of his gambling after that.

True to his very nature, Seamus earned quite the reputation with the woman of Skyhold. He had a natural charm and a lazy grin that made most women flush. He was never a one night of fun kind of guy either, so he had a few women at once that he would woo with sweet words and one of his smiles. Both Thomas and Evelyn threatened him with bodily harm if he ended up getting half the women in Skyhold with child. That aside, he was preparing to join a scouting party to the Dales along with Eddie and Kenneth, his speciality in subterfuge would give the scouts a much needed upper hand.

Frankie settled in as well enough, though his brothers were keeping a very close watch on him. So far, he had gotten into a total of three physical fights in Skyhold. He would have days where he was hilarious sarcastic and active, training with recruits in the courtyard, and laughing it up in the tavern. Other days any little thing would set his temper off to violent levels. He fractured his hand from hitting a wooden door so hard he cracked it. Thomas took it upon himself to peak at the lyrium inventory records, forging the numbers to make it appear a normal amount until he could figure out what to do with him. Evelyn had assigned him to weapons testing, and that kept him out of trouble for the most part. Thankfully, neither Dagna nor Harritt were phased by Frankie’s short temper, both of them used to being surrounded by irritable warriors.

Thomas was perhaps the only one of the brothers that didn’t settle comfortably into life in the Inquisition. His tone with everyone outside of his family was crisp and civil, but it was fairly obvious that he didn’t trust them. The only person he really conversed with outside of his family was Leliana. For the sake of the Inquisition and his sister’s safety, Thomas shared his contacts with her, and with their shared information they actually managed to locate a few Venatori outposts. He agreed to lead the raids, and Leliana spent long hours with him planning every detail and procedure. Thomas disliked her the least for the fact she never pestered him to speak about anything beyond the jobs.

When he wasn’t with Leliana or his family, he had spent his time studying the people his sister cared about so much, claiming that they were not at fault for leaving her behind. The time when his family thought their youngest sister was dead was still fresh in his mind. That period was what he felt the Void would be like: cold and empty. There had never been such sorrow in the Trevelyan house before. Thomas watched his mother cry every day, and his father would stare blankly at the family portrait in the study, drinking bottle after bottle. Olivia had been so heartbroken by the news that her husband agreed to move back to Ostwick so she could be close to her family. Everyone had been a mess, except for him.

Thomas hadn’t been able to afford to let himself fall apart, he had to be strong for his family. That month was spent bailing his brothers out of jail for starting tavern brawls, picking up the empty bottles that surrounded his father every night, and coaxing his mother to eat. In addition, he temporarily took over his father’s duties as Bann of their estate, trying to keep things running smoothly while watching his family fall apart.

Unlike many noble families, even unlike the rest of the Trevelyans outside of Ostwick, his family was as tight knit as possible. They knew they were lucky to have involved and doting parents that many at their stature weren’t as fortunate to have. Bann Redgrave Trevelyan was raised by their renegade grandparents that spent more time on sea than on land, and Lady Winifred Trevelyan was the youngest daughter of the Duke of Hercinia, and was always a bit of a wild child before settling down and studying enough to be one of the finest healers in the Free Marches. Due to either their unusual upbringing or their rather unique personalities, they took active roles in raising their children. Their mother absolutely scoffed at the idea of nannies and nursemaids having the sole run of her children. Their devotion to each other and their children was the reason every Trevelyan sibling never stopped looking out for one another. Losing one of their own was devastating.

The feeling that passed through the family when they found out she was alive was indescribable. Such a vast wave of relief passed through the family that there were tears all around in joy. After Thomas found out through his contacts the full story, anger became the primary emotion, particularly for him. After watching his family fall apart over the fact that his sister was left for dead, he was not feeling very forgiving. 

He wasn’t ready to listen to any reasons about why his sister was left behind. As far as he was concerned, she was being used as a pawn. The one expendable source while the rest of the Inquisition got their fame and power. Elle had told him how they wouldn’t let her go back and look for Evelyn, and that it was a miracle that she hadn’t froze to death on her own for almost five full days. No matter what Evelyn told him, he just couldn’t justify any of the decisions that were made regarding her well-being.

Oh, Thomas was well aware that he was being stubborn and slightly unreasonable about the circumstances, but with Evelyn having that golden heart, he had to for her sake. All the people that claimed they cared for her needed to be held accountable in that they failed her. Thomas spent most of his life looking after his siblings, and with Evelyn being the only mage, the Trevelyans all banded together to never let her live in the horror stories that came out of the mage tower. His own guilt for not protecting her better played a large roll in his resentment, but he was not ready to fully acknowledge that part yet.

He watched her interact with her so-called friends, studied their reactions and body language with the type of skill that is ingrained in nobles that play parts in “the game”. The affection between the Tevinter Mage and his sister was strong, that much was obvious. During the day, Thomas often spied the two of them curled up in the library pouring over volumes and parchments. He held nothing against him for being from Tevinter, yet he still spent a lot of time trying to figure out what angle the Vint was playing to get so close to his sister.

Thomas concluded that many of the people surrounded Evelyn had an angle of some sort. Cassandra was obvious, at least to him. He felt that she saw his sister as a puppet, someone to put in front as a leader to take the blame. Cassandra was perfectly capable of leading, but was not the most popular person. Evelyn was lovely to look at and had a great deal of charisma, of course they would make someone like her the face of the Inquisition. It amused him to no end when he learned of the outrage the Nevarran Warrior had felt when Evelyn allied with the mages instead of conscripting them. Honestly, what did they expect from another mage? 

He knew of Iron Bull’s former situation, and gave him some credit that he was at least upfront about his agenda. Saving Evelyn would not have been a priority at the time for the Qunari, though Thomas was somewhat placated that it may no longer be the case. The Iron Bull at the least had a healthy respect for her, and his relationship with Elle (which was another matter entirely) would at least mean he intended to stay.

Varric wanted the stories and the connections, and Sera wanted to expand her network. Thomas wasn’t so sure about Blackwall, but attributed his suspicion on the Warden being a glory-hound. Solas wanted something in particular from her, but he couldn’t be sure what it was, and Vivienne very obviously intended to bolster her influence. Cole… well to be honest he wasn’t exactly sure. Thomas was told he was a spirit that possessed the human form, and didn’t know what to make of the boy. Cole certainly unnerved him though.

The person that really had Thomas, and really the rest of his brothers on the edge was the Commander of the Inquisition forces. Commander Cullen Rutherford had quite the reputation from his time as a templar. Everyone knew what happened in the Kirkwall, and he heard all the horror stories of how the mages of Kirkwall were treated. Ostwick harbored quite a few mage refugees from Kirkwall, and it turned his stomach at the abuses that went on in that Circle. 

It sickened him that someone who played a role in the treatment of that mages was in any way involved with his little sister. Thomas didn’t care that the Commander had switched sides at the end, one action didn’t make him innocent of all the horrors those mages endured. His sister was beautiful, and kind. Too kind if she let herself look past the Commander's actions. He watched them walk around the gardens in the evening, or play chess together, and he even caught them kissing in a little nook on the battlements. Thomas worried what he wanted with her. No one who held such a disdain for mages could ever really care for one, and he would be damned if he let anyone hurt his sister again.

He wasn’t alone in the worry either. Though Eddie had started working alongside the Commander and spoke with him often enough, he too expressed his reservations for the relationship between their sister and the former Templar. Frankie, who had never been a good templar to begin with, was completely against it, yet insisted that Evelyn could handle it. Thomas waved him off, being that he wasn’t in a state to make a good judgment call anyways. Kenneth, though concerned, pointed out that people could change and Seamus agreed, also adding that Evelyn never interfered with their romantic lives. The only thing they all agreed on was that they didn’t want their sister hurt.

That shared goal was the reason that Thomas sat in Cullen’s chair in his office, casually whittling away on a little present for his nephew that he had been working on while Eddie paced the office and Seamus browsed through the books on the shelf. Right about now, Cullen should be on his way to the office to check on the latest scouting reports and read the missives Evelyn sent over from her from their mission to overtake Griffon Wing Keep.

The guard rotation at that hour very conveniently not been filled. Thomas didn’t intend to have any interruptions, for he wanted to do this once and do it well. His sister was away for now, and he had a few more days before the raid on a possible Venatori supporter. Eddie and Seamus were leaving for the Dales the next morning, so they were determined to get some peace of mind beforehand.

Cullen didn’t even notice them when he walked into the room. His eyes were scanning a letter, a small smile playing on his lips. He probably wouldn’t have looked up at all if Eddie didn’t shut the door behind him and lock it.

It was quite the setup. Eddie’s stocky frame leaned against the door, his arms crossed and eyes scrutinizing while two of his many dogs guarded the other entrances. Seamus snapped the book he was holding shut, also staring down Cullen, albeit his was more out of obligation than genuine worry. Thomas was the only one who looked perfectly casual. He didn’t even look up from his whittling.

“Sorry for the intrusion Commander, we thought it best we wait in your office rather than meeting you outside of the war room.”

Thomas saw Cullen eye all of them cautiously, placing his stack of papers on his desk. “Alright. How can I help you?” His voice retained the same tone he used when speaking with the others in the inner circle, but with a great deal more suspicion.

“Tell me Commander,” Thomas’s eerily calm and plaintive voice softly rang out in the room. “What’s the former Knight Captain of the Kirkwall circle doing in a relationship with a very anti-Circle mage?”

The realization washed over Cullen’s face as he scoffed, taking another look at the the other brothers that surrounded him in his office. He had probably realized at that point that none of his usual guards were there as well.

“Ah, so that’s what all this is about.” He didn’t even look surprised, and Thomas had no doubt that Evelyn had warned him that they would try to talk to him at some point.

“Glad we’re all on the same page now,” Eddie’s serene like voice had an edge to it.

“Not that it is any of your business, but I am very fond of Evelyn. It was not something I had intended to happen when we first met, as starting anything of that nature at this point in my life with the circumstances was less than ideal. It still happened, and I am not sorry for it. Truth be told, I still find it hard to believe she would want anything to do with me.” Cullen’s voice was honest and had no deception in it. Thomas knew from the moment they met he would be a terrible liar, and therefore easy for him to discern.

Thomas blew some of the wood shavings off the table, using the sharp knife to carefully carve the angle for a wing. His nephew was quite fascinated by dragons. “After the Chantry blew up and the events that followed in Kirkwall, many of the mages that did not join the rebellion fled to Ostwick, where many mage supporters dwelled and offered them safe Haven. My mother was among those who tended to quite a few young mages that were too terrified to be tended by any males. Eddie here was tasked with bringing them supplies.” Thomas’s steely green grey eyes tore away from the toy for the first time and flicked to his brother.

“Scars littered their bodies. They were in worse condition than any animal I ever came across. I heard our mother explaining to a young girl that she was so damaged she would be unable to ever bear children.” Eddie remained calmly serene toothpick hanging out of his mouth just as always, though his eyes drilled into the Commander with the force of an axe. 

“Our mother came home those nights, and would do everything she could to not break down.” Seamus added from his spot by the bookshelves.

“The people that did this to them were under your command. Those mages had no one to keep them safe inside the Circle that you were partially in charge of.” Thomas carefully notched the sharp talons on the dragon’s wings. “How can you expect us, or anyone really, not be suspicious and curious as to why someone like you could ever care for a Mage? A Noble Mage for that matter.” Leliana had mentioned Cullen’s disdain for nobility and the whole aristocracy in general. Though the Trevelyans were not common nobles, they were still nobles. 

Cullen’s eyes narrowed slightly, and his posture shifted to defencive. “I admit I didn’t have the highest opinion of mages. I doubt any of you would had you experienced the worst of them, but I never harmed or hurt an innocent person, mage or not.” Guilt passed through his eyes, and for a moment he stared off into the distance. “The templars that committed those offences did so without my knowledge. They were clever enough to let my knight-commander know first, who would then excuse their actions, or present them to me under an entirely different set of circumstances. She concealed them so well that I didn’t know the truth until just after the mages rebelled.”

“I see.” Thomas’s toneless voice never gave away his thoughts, kept purposely blank. He leaned back in the chair and for the first time in the entire conversation brought his callus gaze to Cullen. “And can we expect the same level of attentiveness in regards to our sister?” He asked the question so plainly, he could have been asking about the weather, but the weight of it was obvious enough.

It seemed to be just enough to set Cullen off. “Your sister is a very capable woman. She doesn’t need me scrutinizing her every move and frankly I think she would set me on fire if I did. Do you not even know that about her?” 

“What I know about my sister is that she is seen as an expendable source for the Inquisition. She saved hoards of people from Demons, closed the Breach, and kept hundreds of mages from becoming slaves to the Venatori, and yet despite all that was still left to die. Her thanks for all she did was being left behind in the middle of a blizzard.” Thomas’s tone never shifted, but the danger behind it was brought to the surface by the words alone.

“Oh for- we had no choice!” Cullen waved his hand angrily, fists clenched. “We were all going to die. Not just our soldiers and scouts, but also children, priests, and hundreds of workers. Evelyn made the choice to go alone, and we- I had to let her go. Maker knows I prayed she would survive, but the reality was that a mountain fell on her. The same mountain completely destroyed Haven and despite our hope, the most likely truth was that she didn’t survive. We had hundreds of scared and injured people with us, had no idea where to go or what to do, and for all we knew we were still being pursued by the Red Templars.”

Cullen ran a hand over the pained expression on his face. Thomas knew it was genuine, but it did little to lower his guard. 

“Evelyn coming out of that alive was nothing short of a miracle. With all the things that she does, I find myself often wondering if Andraste truly is guiding her every move.” 

The pained expression morphed into an accusatory one, and this time he was the one to glare at Thomas. “Right now, you’re the one causing Evelyn much of her distress. I don’t know what information you received or what exactly that she told you, but Corypheus was there only for her. She’s selfless enough to risk her life by confronting him directly and giving us a chance to escape. None of us forced her there, and had I known she was alive, I would have been in the scouting party myself.”

The Commander had obviously had enough, and military persona came out. “Just what exactly do you want from us? You’ve thoroughly succeeded in making everyone that cares about her feel like they failed her, but what do you want further down the line? All you’ve done is throw baseless accusations at the people that have been by her side from the moment she sealed the lower breach.”

Thomas’s eyes narrowed, his glare becoming even colder. “Baseless accusations? I’m stating the facts. Your priority may be the Inquisition and their goals, but mine is my family. There is nothing I won’t do to protect them, because look what happens when I don’t. They’re left cold and injured in the snow looming on death’s door.”

Cullen scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. “You give your sister such little credit. You’re blaming everyone for not going back to save her, and you fail to see that she saved herself. **She** is the one that stood up to a Darkspawn Magister that had a bloody dragon. **She** is the one that managed to crawl through a blizzard with injuries that would have forced others to lay and accept their deaths.”

The former Knight Captain turned his gaze on Eddie. “You asked me once why we made Evelyn the Inquisitor. It wasn’t because of the Anchor, or the fact that she was named Herald of Andraste.It had nothing to do with her being a Noble. It was because of who she is!” He picked up a thick stack of papers that rested on a side table and slammed them on his desk. 

“This is all the paperwork we have on our recruits. When asked for their reason to join, you know what most of them said?” He picked up the paper on the very top, reading off. “A few months ago, I saw the Inquisitor distribute blankets for refugees in Redcliffe. She sat up all night and worked with other women to sew warmer clothes for the children.”

Cullen grabbed one from the center of the pile. “The Herald found my late brother in law’s wedding ring and took the time to return it to my sister. I don’t normally pledge myself to any cause, but the world is in chaos and I rather follow the only person whose interest lies with the people and not herself.”

He threw the paper back on the pile and glared evenly at Thomas. “Everywhere she went, people noticed. Where many of us would move on to the more important goals, Evelyn stopped and spoke with the people, heard their problems, and personally went out of her way to solve as many of them as she could. She didn’t pass the problems off to someone else in the Inquisition, she did it herself. Her actions are what made people risk their lives for us. Her willingness to look past her own goals for the greater good is what makes her a better leader than myself, Leliana, or Cassandra. People don’t join for us, they join for her. They join because the Inquisition has a leader that truly cares about her people, and they know for a fact that she will never make a decision that’s based on her own self interest.”

Cullen turned back to Eddie, fiery glare just as piercing. “Evelyn never asked for any of this. She never asked to be called the Herald of Andraste and she never asked to be named Inquisitor, but she damn sure earned it without anyone holding her hand or shielding her from the responsibilities.” He threw his gaze back at Thomas at the last bit.

A heavy silence followed, the air so thick with tension that it almost made the drafty office seem stuffy. The Commander’s outburst was an ice cold bucket of clarity for Thomas, though he would never admit it out loud. 

He really didn’t give his sister any credit, and that made him feel like an absolute ass. He was so used to treating her as the baby of the family, that it did blind him to her accomplishments. Evelyn had always been the most intuitive of the entire Trevelyan clan. She was understanding and practical, often acting as the confidant for many of the other siblings. Thomas somehow never considered how the very same traits that made his family adore her beyond reason would be the very reasons she would be selected as a leader.

The second thing that he realized was that Cullen was fully and completely in love with Evelyn. And that frightened Thomas more than he thought possible.

He placed the half finished figurine on the desk and reached over to grab the bottle of whiskey on Cullen’s desk, pouring himself a glass with the type of nonchalance that coincided with his lack of fear in any social situation. 

“You make a fair point, Commander.” Thomas took a neat sip of the drink. “Tell me then, what will you do the next time Evelyn faces this Darkspawn Magister?”

Cullen heaved a sigh and shut his eyes, the pained expression back on his face. “Andraste preserve me, I will have to send her to him. I will do everything I can to give her all the support she needs, but in the end I fear she will need to face him alone. And for the sake of all the people that depend on her, for all of Thedas, I will have to let her.”

Thomas saw that those words hurt his brothers to hear just as much as it hurt Cullen to say them outloud. Evelyn had told them the same thing when they first arrived, but it was a whole different set of emotions to hear it from someone else, especially someone that obviously cared deeply for her.

Seamus stared hard at the floor, and Thomas knew exactly what he was thinking. The look on his face was similar when he had been grieving for Evelyn. Eddie stared straight ahead, eyes glistening in the overhead candlelight. The wounds were still fresh for them.

Thomas finished the glass of whiskey, fighting to keep the memories of that horrible month from taking over his mind. He cleared his throat and picked up the half finished dragon. “Do you truly care for my sister? Despite the fact that she is a Noble Mage?” His distant voice was softer now, nowhere near as callous as it was earlier.

Cullen opened his eyes and stared evenly at Thomas, his shoulders squared in confidence and jaw clenched in determination. “I do. Very much so.”

Thomas pressed his lips together and placed the empty glass back on the tray. “Then that’s all we wanted to know.” 

He ignored Cullen’s puzzled look as he stood up, the heavy wooden chair scraping across the stone floor. “Have a good evening Commander.”

Thomas needed to get out and think.

Think and drink, if he wanted to be honest.

His brothers and the Eddie’s dogs left without a word, each lost in their own thoughts. Together, they headed straight for the tavern.

Thomas had much to think on, and found himself wishing that time could turn back, and Evelyn would be running on her short little legs to catch up with the rest of her brothers as they ran around the Trevelyan estate. She would always hold little Seamus’s hand so he wouldn’t be left behind.

Now his baby sister was the Inquisitor, and perhaps the only thing standing between the world and a Darkspawn Magister who thought himself a god. And had a pet Archdemon. 

He really needed that drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and thoughts on the story are appreciated and loved! Thank you for reading!


	4. The Herald's Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Evelyn and the rest of her brothers gone, Kenneth no longer had to look over his shoulder to risk getting a lecture on his gambling. Varric sets out to prove that just because he's not being hounded, doesn't mean that Kenneth will have an easy time at cards.

Varric leaned back in his chair, amused grin spread across his mouth as he watched Evelyn’s brother contemplate his next move in Wicked Grace. The kid was a terrible card player, even though Varric was sure he cheated. “Come on Lucky, I’d like to finish this game sometime before I leave tomorrow.” He was leaving for the Exalted Plains with Iron Bull, Cole, Solas, and Sera with a few scouts to meet the Inquisitor, who should be finishing up in Crestwood. 

“Hold on, I can’t rush this. I finally got a good hand.” Kenneth looked smug, and placed a card down. As he picked a new card, Varric spied the tiny edge of an extra card poking out of his sleeve and he rolled his eyes. Isabella would have been outraged at the poor cheating.

“Oh, got the Angel of Death!” Dalish threw the card down. “Alright everyone, show your hands.”

Varric sighed, finding himself wistfully missing the long nights in the Hanged Man playing Wicked Grace that would last for hours with all the cheating, and usually ended with Fenris throwing a mug. They would be at their usual table, him, Hawke, Isabella, Merrill, Fenris, and before Justice fully took over Anders would also join regularly. They would spend the night playing Wicked Grace, drinking, laughing, and bullshitting. It was only three years ago, but it felt like a lifetime.

“Ha!” Kenneth threw his cards on the table. “Three Serpents and a song!” 

Varric looked at the cards and snorted. “Look again Lucky, that’s not a serpent, it’s the serpent entwined dagger.” 

Kenneth’s brow scrunched in confusion, and the whole table blew up in laughter when he started cursing a storm, stabbing his dagger into the wood of the table in anger, and angrily threw one of his peanuts at Krem. 

At that point in the night, it had been the fifth game he lost, and by Varric’s count at this point he was out of money. He had to give him credit for having no shame in continuing his spectacular losing streak. Most everyone would have called it quits long before now.

“Don’t worry, I’m out too,” a laughing Krem folded his cards, as did Skinner, Dalish, and Rocky.

Stitches laid out his cards. “Two pairs. Song of Courage, Song of Mercy, and Wolf-Head Dagger and Dragon’s tooth dagger.”

Varric laid his cards next, knowing damn well he cheated. “Song of Love, Song of Parting, Dawn Knight, Dusk Knight, and Noontide Knight.” 

“Oh that is such bullshit. I laid down the Dusk Knight at the very beginning!” Kenneth slammed his fist on the table.

Varric shrugged, sly smirk stretching his lips. “Maybe you thought you did.”

“I KNOW I put it down!” The rest of the table snickered at how angry Kenneth was getting. 

Zevran gave a dramatic sigh as he looked at Varric’s cards. “Ah such a disappointment...” A second later his frown formed into a smirk. “A disappointment that once again, I got the best hand. It is getting boring.” The damn Antivan elf managed laid down the Angel of Truth, Angel of Charity, Angel of Virtue, Angel of Fortitude, and the Eclipse Knight. 

“Oh come on! I discarded both the Angel of Virtue and the Angel of Truth! This is such horseshit!” Kenneth threw his hands in the air in frustration.

Krem looked at him incredulously. “Why would you EVER discard an Angel card?”

“Because I didn’t have them both at the same time and didn’t think I would need them!”

Varric shook his head, resigning to the fact that he lost some good coin. “This is why you don’t play cards with an Antivan.”

“No, this is why you don’t play cards with cheaters!” Kenneth gulped the rest of his ale and slammed the mug on the table.

“Ah, come now. Wicked Grace is a game of skill. And I am naturally skilled in it, among other things,” Zevran winked at Kenneth, who only glared back.

“Alright, another round. I want my money back.”

Varric sighed, wondering if the kid was going to end up with any clothes again. “Don’t you think you should give it a rest there, Lucky? Playing with an Antivan never ends well anyway.”

“Fine, we play with dice then.” Kenneth placed a handsome set of silverite daggers on the table, the Trevelyan crest on the grip glinting in the tavern light. “I’m good for it.”

“Yea, I don’t think so kid.” Iron Bull pulled up a seat next to Varric, setting two pitchers of ale on the table. “Boss threatened all us if she finds out we bet against your family daggers. And you’re sister is not above putting in an order to stop the tavern from serving us drinks.”

Varric shrugged at Kenneth’s grumbling. “Sorry kid, I’m not risking being cut off.”

“Tell you what, I will play you. No money, just your dignity at stake.” Zevran had the charming smile on his face that Varric would bet was the last thing many of the assassin’s marks saw before they met their untimely end. 

“Oh I’m in. And we’re using my dice so you can’t cheat.” Kenneth took Dalish’s recently vacated seat and took out his dice. The poor guy just didn’t learn. Krem, Iron Bull, and him all exchanged knowing looks, all of them having a pretty good idea of how this would end.

Meanwhile, Kenneth kept grumbling about his sister. “Can’t bet my family daggers my ass. I’ve always been able to bet them, and when I did I won.”

“Don’t blame the Inquisitor too much, Elle threatened us as well, said she refused to lend you any more coins and told us we’re enabling you too much.” Krem knowingly smirked at Iron Bull. “Chief here is so whipped that it probably took nothing more than a sweet word.”

Iron Bull snorted mischievous smirk on his face. “Trust me, I’m the one doing the whipping.”

Varric laughed, and Kenneth groaned, both at the statement and the fact that Zevran won another round. “Come on, I grew up with her. She’s like my sister, I don’t need to know that.”

“Believe me Lucky, you better get used to it. Those two are as subtle as Druffalo in a Chantry.” Everyone around the table snickered, and Kenneth groaned again.

“Seriously, do we need to discuss this? This place is swarming with women, why not discuss one of them?” 

“Hey, we’re doing you a favor kid. Trying to keep you on walking into something you’ll never forget.” Varric had his most helpful smile on his face. “For instance, never go into Elle’s room unless she invites you in. And if you need to, knock. Seriously knock.” He grimaced at the memory. It was the last time he would ever go to Elle’s room looking for pipe smoke herbs. He saw more of a Qunari’s backside than he ever wanted.

Iron Bull bellowed in laughter. “Ah yea, that was a good day. That’s what happens when you come barging it at that time of day.”

Varric shot a pointed look at Iron Bull over the rim of his mug. “Tiny, it was after breakfast.”

Kenneth put his hands over his ears, losing the third time now to Zevran. “Right always knock, can we move on then?”

“Oh, and if you hear any screaming coming from inside Elle’s tower or the Tavern tower, don’t run in there brandishing your weapon,” Krem added, looking as amused as Iron Bull. “Trust me, no one is being attacked.”

Iron Bull shrugged nonchalantly, casual as ever. “There’s a reason the door was locked.” 

Kenneth groaned for the umpteenth time, pushing the dice. “Really? What part of her being like my sister is difficult to understand?”

“Don’t get your small clothes in a twist.” Krem slapped his back. “ We’re just giving you some survival tips.”

Iron Bull refilled the young Trevelyan’s tankard. “Just be grateful it’s only Elle that you have to worry about and not the Boss as well.

Varric snorted into his drink. “For now at least. The Commander is courting your sister very properly.”

Kenneth grabbed his dice and angrily stood up. “Alright, enough! I won’t listen to any exploits of my sister! I’m done!” He stalked off, muttering angrily about snarky dwarfs and depraved Qunari.

The table waited until he was a safe distance away before cracking up. Varric held his side from laughing, while Iron Bull spilled his drink all over the table. 

“Oh man, I can’t believe that worked!” Iron Bull had a tear coming out of his eye.

“That’s one hell of a way to keep him from losing his shirt in cards!” Varric managed to breathe out in between laughs. “We owe Elle a round of drinks for that idea.”

Zevran slid over a large share of his winnings of the night toward Varric, Iron Bull, and Krem. “I believe you earned that fair and square. Alas, I underestimated how sensitive the infamous Trevelyan Brother was.”

Varric leaned forward and began dividing the coin. “I had a brother, and trust me if someone started talking about his sex life I would leave the room too.”

Ever since that night when Kenneth was stupid enough to bet an evening with Evelyn, she had threatened every one of them that she would order Cabot to cut all of them off anything other than water and the piss tasting ale. In addition, she promised a barrel of chasind mead for anyone that got her brother to stop gambling. She didn’t say whether he had to permanently stop gambling or not, and Varric planned to enjoy that barrel with his co-conspirators.

“Can we all agree not to tell our lovely, sweet Inquisitor that we got him to quit for the evening by talking about her personal life?” Varric had seen Evelyn angry enough times to know that he would rather not be on the receiving end of her temper.

“Here, here,” Krem raised his glass and the rest of the table’s occupants mirrored his actions. The pact was in place, and Maker help them all if someone decided to break it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading! This is a lighthearted chapter after the previous heavy one. Reviews are love, and I love reading them. Drop a comment if you can!


	5. Scouting the Dales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and his pack join his brother and Scout Lace Harding on a scouting mission in the Exalted Plains. He slowly starts to find not just his place in the Inquisition, but also within the people the makeup the group. Between the natural camaraderie formed with the other scouts and a new friendship forming, he's well on his way to finding a purpose he previously lacked.

Eddie loved the Exalted Plains, he had since his first trip there as a boy. That had of course been before it was torn by war, demons, and walking corpses. It was nothing but vast, open space of wilderness. He had tamed his first wolf pack here. 

The scouting mission that he went on with his youngest brother and the Inquisition scouts to the Plains left him feeling slightly hollow to see what the area he loved so much as a boy had become. It was more than just the war torn destruction though. The land there felt… wounded. The Dales had been the site of many tragedies for centuries, but he never felt such a torn land in his lifetime. Even his pack felt uneasy, constantly looking to him for guidance.

Since he was a boy, Eddie had a gift with animals. With a touch or a look, he had bonded instantly with animals that would otherwise harm him. His very presence would calm even the most hostile animals, and he seemed to instinctively know what to do around animals. He remembered his mother worried he would become a mage with a “beast’s touch” because of his way with them. When he was just six years old, he horrified the entire household by bringing home a fully grown bear that he managed to tame. His parents were all but convinced he would show signs as a mage, but he never did. His gift with animals was a mystery, and one he had no intention of solving.

He brought along seven of his pack to the scouting mission, which included two of the wolves he had rescued from the Free Marches. Eddie could tell most of the other scouts were nervous around them. Other than Seamus, who had grown up with Eddie’s pack, Scout Harding and the Charger’s assassin were the only one that seemed at ease with the pack.

Scout Harding set up the base by the Path of Flames, in an area that was naturally protected by old stone walls and gave them a clear advantage to anyone that might try to attack them.

Just as the sun set, Eddie paired up with the tattooed assassin, Archer, to look for the Venatori, and Seamus and Scout Harding spilt up to sneak inside the fortress to try and see if they could figure out the undead situation.

His face caked with mud for camouflage, the dark brown leather of his armor allowing him to blend into the trees almost as well as the assassin’s black leather armor. 

With a whistle that sounded exactly like a bird call, he send his pack of dogs ahead, the two wolves leading the pack. 

Bow slung over his back, he waited a moment before motioning for Archer to follow him. She disappeared in the shadows, and the only reason that Eddie could even keep track of her was listening to the soft sound of her near silent breaths. 

The two of them blended so well into the background that even the herd of halla, which were normally very skittish, ran past them without hesitation. 

So far, they had found two rifts, the Dalish Campsite, and several Venatori camps, all which Eddie took the time to mark on the map. They moved around based on the signals from his pack, using the moonless night to their advantage. 

Eddie climbed up on the jagged rock, leaning over to give a hand for the slightly shorter assassin to climb up. The best way for them to gauge the rest of the land was from high up, and the jagged cliff by the river was their best bet. The pack ran through the field near them, always within earshot.

It was amazing the amount of things that could be said between people without a word ever being uttered. Through hand motions and eye contact, the two managed to have a whole conversation about the area around them.

The war torn land was not in a good state, and Eddie knew his sister would have her hands full by the sheer amount of demons that roamed the area. The assassin also pointed out another hidden bandit camp not far from the Elven burial site. 

Using a different bird call in rapid succession, Eddie signaled his pack to head back, carefully climbing down from the rocky structure to join them. They surveyed as much as they could, and the last thing they wanted to do was alert any of the bandits or the Venatori of their involvement. 

It was rather fortunate that they decided to head back at that moment, for when they were close to the camp, the pack stopped and went on the defence stance. Archer placed a hand on his shoulder and pointed out a figure brandishing a bow and creeping toward their camp. The wind carried a familiar poisonous odor that he suspected came from the arrows in the quiver.

Eddie’s eyes narrowed, especially when he heard his brother’s laugh coming from the camp. With a sharp whistle, the pack went savage. In a series of howls, snarls, and ferocious growls, the canines descended on the figure, whose screams pierced the silence of the night. 

His grey wolf went right for the neck, cutting the screams off quickly, while the rest nearly of the pack tore into the body relentlessly.

He whistled again, and the pack stopped immediately, blood dripping from their jowls as they stepped away from the torn body.

“By the Maker!” Scout Harding stood with her bow out, face in shock. “Leliana said your dogs were useful in scouting missions, but I did not think she meant this.”

Seamus laughed, eerily unperturbed by the whole thing and leaned down to try and identify the culprit. “This is nothing. You should see them when he has Tim with him. That’s what we call the bear that stayed back in Ostwick.”

“You have a bear. And you named it Tim.” Scout Harding looked between him and Seamus like they lost their minds. 

Eddie shrugged. “It’s the only thing he would respond to.’

His thin lips cracked into a grin when he heard the assassin let out a giggle.

“Ha! Look Lace, he was from the Freeman of the Dales!” Seamus picked up a bloodstained missive from the tattered pocket of the still warm corpse. “They’re holed up in a bunch of the forts around here.”

Scout Harding took the missive and let out a long sigh. “The Inquisitor is not going to have a good time dealing with them.”

“The Inquisitor can handle them just fine,” Archer said with a snort. “I’ve seen her freeze Venatori from the inside out.”

“Doesn’t mean she will like having to deal with this in addition to the crazy rifts around here.” Scout Harding sighed and looked over at the dogs licking the blood from their mouths.

“Don’t be scared of them. They would never harm someone that wasn’t a threat.” Eddie tried to put the pretty dwarf at ease.

“And you’re too lovely to be a threat,” Seamus added, earning an eye roll from Scout Harding. 

“You just don’t let up do you? Come on, we started supper already.” Scout Harding and Archer went forward, checking around for any additional visitors while Seamus pocketed any valuables left on the body.

Spider, one of Leliana’s spies, was one hell of a cook. He made a stew from Druffalo meat with herbs and barley that was delicious. Eddie hadn’t eaten this well on the road since him and Kenneth travelled with Elle to find her clan. Elle knew herbs like no one else, and managed to keep them fed every night.

“Oh man, this hit the spot.” Seamus had finished his second bowl, and patted his stomach in satisfaction. “This is the best I ever ate while on the road.” He tossed his bowl toward the dogs so they could lick it clean, ignoring the look of disgust that Harding tossed his way.

Eddie had finished his portion earlier, opting to lounge against the large wolf he raised and watch his pack patrol the campsite. He was very well aware that his animals made people quite wary of him, and in his experience it was always best to let people relax in his presence before he allowed his dogs to roam freely without supervision.

Thankfully, not everyone was so apprehensive. Scout Kast, Harding’s second in command, was feeding a few of the hounds some scraps leftover from dinner. Scout Harding had started to gently pet the hound that laid between her and Seamus on the ground, and was slowly gaining confidence with her strokes.

The one that tickled him the most was seeing his enormous boarhound Meatlug sitting impatiently next to Archer, lifting his paw and sneezing in an attempt to ask for food. Archer looked cautious and amused at the massive huffing dog, drooling next to her and trying its damn hardest to be polite.

“He wants you to share, but he knows he’s not allowed to whine or beg,” Eddie added helpfully, his serene grin widened when he saw Archer carefully pick a chunk of meat out of her bowl and offer it to the massive hound. 

Meatlug reached forward and gently took it from her fingers, licking the long digits clean as his whole body shook in excitement, enticing a giggle from the striking assassin. She looked back at her bowl and then carefully placed it in front of the dog. “Here you go Big Guy, go crazy.”

The boarhound didn’t hesitate and shoved his whole face in the bowl, all contents gone within seconds. He pawed the bowl aside and then walked closer and flopped down on the ground next to her, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.

Archer held her hands up, still smiling. “Sorry Big Guy, that was all I had.” 

Eddie grinned, taking a swig of the ale. “His name is Meatlug.”

That brought out a full on laugh from the tattooed assassin. “Oh that is just perfect.”

He watched her reach out and scratch Meatlug’s comically small ears. “So the dogs, the wolves, the horse and the halla, how does all that work? I mean, how is it the wolves don’t attack the others?”

“They’re part of the same pack, that’s their family. Families don’t hurt each other.”

She dropped her gaze, and her shoulders stiffened slightly. A few seconds later, she composed herself enough to look like nothing happened. “Yea, we all noticed that family is a pretty big deal for you guys,” Archer added lightly.

Eddie shrugged. “Yea we get a little loud sometimes.”

“A little? I heard your arrival from my room in the tower. It’s also the first time any of us have seen the Inquisitor lose her her temper like that,” Scout Harding quipped, smirking a bit. “Maybe it’s a good thing. The Inquisitor always seems so calm and collected, like nothing could rattle her. Not that that’s a bad thing.” The last part she said quickly, possibly in fear of the two Trevelyans leaping to their sister’s defense. “It was just something else to see her lose her cool. Ha! Lose her cool, cause there was ice all around her, get it?” 

Seamus snorted in laughter. “I love a good pun. And that just goes to show you that Evie is a natural at the whole leader thing. At home her temper is as bad as Thomas’s.”

Archer raised her eyebrows. “I’m telling Iron Bull when we get back then. He’s convinced that the Inquisitor is too sincere and composed to fly off the handle easily.”

“Evie _is_ too sincere and composed to lose her temper easily, but we tend to bring out that side in her.” Seamus puffed his chest in pride, making Eddie roll his eyes.

“Since you brought him up,” Eddie refilled his drink and casually glanced over at Archer. “Do we have any reason to be worried about him with Elle?” Unlike Thomas, Eddie was never one for ceremony. While he wasn’t as unfiltered and blunt as Frankie, he didn’t like to dance around questions either.

“Oh for fucks sake, seriously?” Archer rolled her eyes, her long braid swishing her head when she shook her head. “How is what Elle does with anyone any of your business? She’d probably fry you if she found out you were asking about this.”

“Let her. She’s family, and she knows we’re going to watch out for her, we’ve been doing it for as long as we’ve known her.” Eddie’s tone was as serene and nonchalant as ever, though he looked at Archer expectantly.

The Rivaini rolled her eyes. “She’s a big girl that can take care of her own affairs well enough without you lot looking over her shoulder.”

“Didn’t say she wasn’t. When you care about someone, you make it a point to ask these types of things. None of us want Elle hurt.” He poured her a bit of the weak ale before refilling his own.

Archer snorted. “Yea well, neither does Chief. The Chargers were taking bets on those two since they met. Trust me, he’s been smitten a long time.”

“Really? Surprised he found the time from how busy he kept half the servants since he joined the Inquisition.” Eddie’s neutral tone caused Scout Harding to choke on her drink. His brothers didn’t gain their reputations as rogues out of nowhere. They knew how to get information, and in this particular case it wasn’t even remotely difficult.

“I swear, you spies are a pain in the ass. Look, it took him a little bit, but trust me, I doubt there is anything that could make Chief ever hurt her. He’s a good man, and the two are good for each other. If any of you do anything to mess it up, not even your Maker will help you.” Archer got more and more riled up with each word, now looking thoroughly annoyed with him.

Seamus looked beyond amused, exchanging a smirk with Scout Harding. “Taking this a little personally there aren’t you?”

“Fuck yes I’m taking it personally. Putting aside the fact that he’s my Mercenary Captain, I worked my ass off to push those two together. Do you know what it’s like to be up against the crazy ass Qun shit that he lived and breathed his entire fucking life? It’s no damn picnic. I was one step away from literally bashing his head, trying to get that big idiot to come to his senses. It took months! MONTHS!” She made wide motions with her hands in anger, flat out glaring at the two Trevelyan brothers.

“I don’t care if the Inquisitor is your sister, if you do anything to mess them up after all my work, I will give you an up close encounter with my blades.” Archer guzzled down whatever was left in her cup, still glaring at them.

Seamus held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, point made, point made very clearly.” He looked at her curiously for a moment, almost as if he was searching for something, but whatever it was he didn’t say anything. Then he let out a giggle. “Ha, point, blades, get it?” 

Even Eddie rolled his eyes at that. 

Meanwhile, Meatlug had moved to drape himself all over Archer’s lap, who had taken to absentmindedly scratching his behind his ears. The Rivaini assassin had a dog that weighed at least twenty pounds more than her pinning her down and not looking to move anytime soon.

She didn’t even notice, focusing her glare solely on Eddie. 

He shrugged his shoulders and leaned over to refill her glass. “Alright then. You shan’t hear another word about it.” A grin played upon his lips when he saw her still bristled expression. “Let us move on to another topic. Scout Harding promised to tell us what it was like in the Fallow Mire with the Avaar.”

Eddie decided right then and there that he liked the Charger’s assassin. She was spirited, and not easily intimidated. Usually, just because of their reputations, people were always very cautious around the Trevelyans and were careful with their words and actions. Archer spoke without fear and didn’t seem to give a flying nug about their notoriety. It was refreshing. 

After that brief stint, the rest of the scouting mission was quite pleasant. Every day, Eddie took his pack and went off with Archer and they mapped out the terrain. They managed to map out a few stone quarries and good logging areas that would certainly be useful. 

The Dales had plenty of Venatori activity to track, and the Freemen of the Dales had already tried attack the camp a few times. After his pack dismembered the fourth assassin, they stopped sending them in altogether.

Archer and Eddie made a good team as a scouting pair. They were fast and knew how to blend in with their environment while keeping up with the pack. He taught her how to scale the sides of trees and cliffs, though she was still getting the hang of the latter. He was no match for ability to disappear into the shadows. No matter what time of day, she could step into the shadows and become virtually invisible. Because of her, they stole quite a few important documents from the Venatori camps. 

The best part of the mission though, was the campfires at midnight. All the scouts would joke and tell stories, weak ale passed around along with whatever food they managed to make last. Often, Eddie would come back with from a morning hunt with his pack, usually bringing back anything from halla to snowfluer. Other times, the other scouts would bring back barrels of fish,

It was one such night where they all enjoyed fire grilled fish when Archer, who at that point insisted they call her Ayla, was getting thoroughly annoyed with Seamus, who had spent the last two nights staring hard at her without shame.

“For the last time Seamus, stop fucking staring at me. It’s creepy, and it’s definitely not a way to get in my pants.” She glared at him angrily and scooting closer to Scout Harding. 

Seamus’s previously studious face suddenly split into a lazy grin. “Hey, did you ever finish that bloody rose tattoo on your thigh?”

Ayla snorted.”Of course I did that was three years-” She stopped mid sentence and her dark eyes widened. “-ago.” The confusion and bewilderment on her face made Eddie pause his eating and look between the two of them.

“How did you…” She trailed off, and when realization crossed her face, Seamus only grinned wider.

“Three years ago, Summersday, Lord Ridley’s estate. Three day raiding turned celebration.” Seamus’s grin turned into a smirk as he put his hands behind his head. “Two very lovely days and nights, and I’m fairly sure neither of us were fully dressed at any point. I knew you looked familiar.”

Eddie and Lace laughed openly as Ayla covered her face in her hands. “Well shit. I can’t believe I didn’t remember you. I can’t believe you didn’t remember me!” She swiftly punched the smirking Seamus in the arm.

“Aw don’t be sore about it. I just forgot to remember you, but I remember that celebration with a great deal of fondness.” Seamus had such a nonchalant manner about him that allowed him to say things with an ease that people accepted, whereas anyone else would get anyone else slapped or worse.

Lace couldn't stop giggling. “I had no idea you were into younger men.”

Eddie shook his head, grin still wide on his face. “She didn’t stand a chance. When Pretty Boy here turns on the charm, I have yet to see a girl resist it. He’s been accused of being a mage on more than one occasion.”

Lace glanced over at the youngest Trevelyan, with his classically handsome features and sparkling eyes, and blushed very noticeably. “I believe it.”

“When he really wants to show off and have every woman, and half the men, enthralled, he brings out the Golden voice.” Eddie reached over and ruffled his younger brother’s hair. 

Seamus smacked his hand away, preening his ridiculously perfect hair. “Don’t pick on me just because you look like you were raised by wolves and your singing voice sounds like a howl.”

Eddie chuckled. “Didn’t mean to offend you Pretty Boy, I forget that you’re the sensitive type.”

A bread roll hit him right on the side of his face, causing a laugh to break out from around the group. 

Lace’s eyes were wide in excitement. “You can sing?! Really?! A few of us at Skyhold are looking to put together a group to sing at the tavern. I’m calling it ‘the Sing-quisition’!” She was positively beaming in what Eddie found to be absolutely adorable. It was difficult to say that about a woman who he saw earlier in the day slit someone’s throat. 

It was like Seamus’s and Ayla’s intimate past disappeared from topic as Harding and a few of the others started talking about songs from home to sing. Music was something that could bring even the most diverse groups together.

“Well now you did it Pretty Boy. Give your lovely audience a song.” Ayla pushed his shoulder slightly, handing him the waterskin.

Seamus bowed his head, hair falling in his face with his usual easygoing smile. “As my Lady requests.” He winked at her and Eddie was just tickled at the light blush that graced the ruthless assassin’s face. “How many Marchers are here? Oh Spider, I had no idea, you don’t even have an accent.”

He cleared his throat. “Then most of you will know this one.” And just like that, a feeling of home washed over Eddie, and probably every other Marcher with them as Seamus’s clear, textured voice that teetered between tenor and baritone rang through the night to the ever popular ‘Mari Malone’. 

“In Ostwick's fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Mari Malone. As she wheeled her wheelbarrow through streets broad and narrow, crying cockles and mussels alive a-live O!”

Eddie, Ayla, and a few of the others joined in on the chorus of the popular tune that was sung in probably every tavern in the Free Marchers. “A-live a-live O! A-live a-live O! Crying cockles and mussels alive a-live O!” 

Eddie closed his eyes, and images of Athenry, the name of the Trevelyan’s estate flashed through his mind. Miles of the famous Trevelyan vineyards bordered their home and the family winery, and the other side filled with pastures and crops. It was much warmer there than most of Orlais or Ferelden, snow being a rare occurrence. His parents, brother, sister, and his sister’s family were all there waiting for them, and he did miss them.

For now, home was Skyhold. His sister needed him and the rest of his brothers, whether she would admit it or not. After the talk with the Commander, Eddie was no longer suspicious of the people she surrounded herself with, at least nowhere close to the degree that Thomas was, but he still felt that Evelyn needed people that were in her corner and wouldn’t let her become a martyr whenever a dangerous situation occurred. He had his brothers, sister, and his pack. For now, that would suffice.

“Wow.” Lace’s eyes were so wide by the end of the song that they practically took up half her face. “Uh… wow.”

Eddie grinned. “Told you. And now you’re practically in love.” He had seen that look that was on Lace’s and a few of the other scouts’ face time and time again. Since his youngest brother was a teenager, he used his naturally gifted voice to his advantage. Thomas had of course trained Seamus to use that voice to the family advantage. It’s incredible the amount of information a person could get out of someone that is enthralled by a lovely voice.

Ayla had a curious look on her face, biting her lip in contemplation. “Did you by chance sing when we met?”

“Yes.” 

“Ah.” Ayla nodded in acceptance, the look on her face making Eddie chuckle. 

“The voice did it then?” He passed her some more of the weak ale.

“Yea. Oh yea.”

After that, every night was filled with a few songs to pass time, and Eddie was fairly sure that Scout Harding had developed quite a crush on Seamus, as she couldn’t stop blushing after he sang. 

The other highlight of those long days was when the ravens or a messenger would pass by with letters and messages from Skyhold. Eddie had gotten one from Thomas, one from Frankie, two from Kenneth that asked to borrow money, and to his surprise, one from his twin sister all the way from Ostwick.

> _Eddie,_
> 
> _Do you realize it’s been almost a month since your last letter? Whatever happened to “Oh Liv, don’t you worry I will write you once a week so you know we’re alive and well”? When you come home, I will be punching you, possibly in the throat, most likely in the stomach. I’ve been harassing the poor messengers at the rookery like a mad woman. In case I have to spell it out for you, write me weekly letters like you promised, you horse’s ass._
> 
> _I can’t believe you, Thomas, and Seamus went and harassed Evie’s Commander! She is going to freeze you all on the spot when she finds out. And can I just say, she had never even taken a lover in her life, let alone shone a prolonged interest in someone that wasn’t a character from her books. With everything that has happened to her, and will happen to her, she deserves someone just for her. Does she have any idea that he’s in love with her? There is something so ridiculously romantic about the whole thing that when I read your last letter I started crying in my tea. Of course, that could just be my moods, you know what I’m like when I’m with child._
> 
> _Speaking of which, I have wonderful news. Gideon sent for a mage healer yesterday, as he was cross with me for complaining about letting out all my lovely gowns because I am far larger than I should be, and guess what we found out? I’m having twins! As expected, I cried in joy for about half the evening, along with Mother. Gideon is infinitely pleased as well, having gone around the entire estate and toasting with every servant he could find. He is hoping for a set of boys, though I told him there was a good chance it would be a boy and girl just as we were. Truthfully I would love a girl just to balance out the fact that I am the only female in the Locke family under thirty years. I expect you and everyone else to come home in time to see the birth of the newest members of the Trevelyan clan. Tell Evie to bring her Commander, I want to meet him. And no, I do not care if I am as big as a barn when I do._
> 
> _Wyatt and Jaxson miss you greatly and pestered me to inform you that they can contribute to the Inquisition and should be allowed to come and train over there. I, of course, proceeded to inform them that there is a height requirement for the Inquisition they couldn’t meet, and those two smart asses told me if they plaster the sheep wool on their face they could pass as dwarves. You can bet Mother and Father are delighting in the fact that now I am getting a taste of what they went through with us. The boys each enclosed their own letters, and Maker help you if you write back and tell them they could join._
> 
> _Please take care of yourself. The news we hear coming out of the Dales is not good, and I will worry, and probably cry until you leave. If not for my condition, I would have joined you all out there. Maker knows your asses could use someone covering it, and I don’t mean your dogs. Speaking of which, the rest of your pack is certainly missing you, especially Persimmon. He still sleeps in the loft of the barn with the other wolves, but I expect he will be angry with you when you arrive home after leaving him for so long. The boys do keep them busy._
> 
> _Mother and Father wrote to Thomas, and enclosed notes for all of you. They promptly reminded me to remind you that they too expect to hear from you. I do fear Father has not quite recovered from that whole stint with us thinking Evie had died. He worries greatly, and I am grateful that Gideon is having Father teach him how to run the vineyards. It keeps him distracted, and you know how proud father is of the vineyards. He plans on sending several hundred barrels to the Inquisition in the next month._
> 
> _I expect a response from you soon. Leaving a woman expecting with child waiting for ages for a letter is bad enough, but now I am expecting two children, so I trust you won’t be dallying anymore._
> 
> _Stay safe. I love you._
> 
> _With love,_
> 
> _Olivia_

Eddie read the letter, laughing out loud at certain bits. He could practically hear his sister scolding him in his head. This was their first time ever being separated for so long, and he didn’t like it. Even when he was on the run with Elle and Kenneth, his sister would often meet them at ports with money and supplies. This time around it just wasn’t possible. The ache that filled his chest to be so far from his twin returned in full force.

“Good news?” Lace asked him, cocking her head to the side in curiosity.

“My twin sister wrote me. She is expecting twins.” A cheer rang out throughout the camp, scouts toasting to the happy news. 

“I had no idea you had a twin, let alone another sister!” Lace exclaimed, eyes wide and bright. “What’s she like?”

Seamus let out a laugh, choking a bit on the ale. “The exact opposite of Evie. Liv is very brash, manipulative, and refuses to put up with something that she doesn’t care for. She’s terrible with nobility, and never had much tact. But, she’s still wonderful. Great fun too.” 

“She sounds it.” Lace agreed, probably trying to imagine someone so different from the Inquisitor that she obviously admired. 

Eddie’s eyes fell on Ayla, who had folded up one letter and had at least three others unopened. Her sharp features were drawn in a look of trance-like thought, making Eddie’s brow furrow in concern. “Is everything alright?”

It caused her to snap out of it, and she quickly stuffed the first letter, and the other unopened ones into her vest. “Fine. I’m fine.” Her tone was clipped, and it was obvious that she wasn’t open to talking about it.

“Those were from Zevran weren’t they? He sent me one too, all his parchment smells like cloves and spices.” Lace brought a piece of parchment to her lips and smiled. 

Seamus grinned, eyes sliding over to Eddie. “Yea, a cloud of spices pretty much follows him wherever he goes, right Eddie?” He nudged him with an exaggerated grin, wagging his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

It was moments like this that reminded Eddie that despite his height, Seamus was truly the youngest of them.

Ayla’s mouth dropped open in surprise, obviously getting the implication. “Seriously? You and him?”

Eddie shrugged. “It was one night years ago. He’s been one of our allies since then, helped us with quite a few jobs too.”

“Unbelievable,” Ayla muttered shaking her head. 

Seamus looked like it was Satinalia morning. “Oh, I get it! Well lookie here, you two have loads of things in common. What a truly beautiful bonding experience, all for the prowess of a former Antivan crow.”

“Stuff it, Pretty Boy.” Ayla retorted, looking more annoyed at Seamus than at him. 

Seamus put a hand over his heart in mock outrage. “What hostility! I am wounded, truly hurt.”

Eddie leaned forward and smacked his brother in the back of the head. “With the trail of broken hearts and undergarments you have following you, I would be the last to talk.”

Seamus pretended to look offended. “I was merely pointing out that the two of you have another thing in common. You could compare notes!” He dodged the bread roll that Ayla threw at him, but ended up falling over when both Meatlug and his hunting hound Art lunged for the fallen food, causing him to fall right on his behind.

Eddie didn’t even try to hold back his laughter. The little shit deserved it, but Seamus always took things in stride and joined in the laughter at his expense.

Their first scouting mission was certainly a memorable one, and one Eddie felt he would look back on fondly for a long time. In that mission alone, he met one of his greatest friends, and finally felt like he was making his sister’s life slightly less difficult. 

Now if they could only make it back to Skyhold without Ayla strangling Seamus, but stranger things have happened.


	6. Deceptions and Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leliana knows everything that happens at Skyhold, and what she doesn't know, she has ways of finding out.
> 
> Warning: Mentions of addiction all throughout the chapter

There weren’t many goings on in Skyhold that the Inquisition Spymaster didn’t know about. She knew that Iron Bull and Sera regularly lead midnight raids in the kitchen in the hunt for sweets, even though they feigned ignorance about it. She knew that Cullen always saved Evelyn some honey cakes whenever she was stuck meeting with nobles. She knew where Elle and Solas would go whenever he wanted to show her the Fade and share stories of his travels. 

Leliana knew that while Varric ignored virtually all correspondences with the Merchant Guild, he would also vigilantly write letters to all his friends from Kirkwall. She even knew that Cassandra had been exchanging letters with a member of the Valos-Kas Mercenary group ever since they escorted all those refugees to Skyhold and took the job to safely escort all supplies and merchandise that made their way to and from the fortress.

Her honed observational skills with all her years of training as a Bard meant that she could read people better than most others, though she fully acknowledged that the Iron Bull gave her a run for her money in that area. It rarely failed her, and when it did, she learned from her mistake.

Those past mistakes and on some level pure instinct had her keeping an eye on Frankie Trevelyan from the moment that he arrived. It wasn’t difficult to see that something was off about him. On some level, she felt that even Evelyn could see it as well, though she spoke of him with an obvious adoration that Leliana doubted that she would be able to see past it. No matter, something about him told her that she needed to keep a close eye on him.

In the past month since he arrived, Leliana kept her eyes on him from the shadows. His erratic behavior was gaining him an unstable reputation. He would go a week or so and be fine somewhat normal, or what she suspected was normal for him. Frankie was quite abrasive and had less of a filter than Sera. He thrived in conflict and confrontation and took special care to get a rise out of others in an almost malicious glee. Negative traits aside, he was completely devoted to his brothers, particularly to Evelyn. He was a relentless fighter, using his two swords with such force that every movement seemed to be done with an unnatural strength. Though he wasn’t suited to help train the soldiers, Evelyn made a sound call in having him test the weapons. He was able to come up with some interesting modification on weapons that ended up in their favor.

Despite all that, Leliana knew that something was off, and just from their body language alone, she knew that the rest of the Trevelyan brothers knew it too. 

So she began an investigation on her own, telling no one and acting like there was nothing that bothered her about the Trevelyan family that seemingly invaded the fortress.

Not that Leliana didn’t like Evelyn’s family. On the contrary, she had a great deal of respect for them. She knew them through reputation, just as everyone did, and due to her deep connection to the Chantry, she knew more than most. The Trevelyans of Ostwick may be known for wreaking havoc on nobles, but more specifically they targeting nobles that threatened the Chantry. One day some Lord was speaking out against the Chantry taking lands from them and refusing bribes, and the next week the entire estate that Lord owned was raided and trashed beyond repair or salvaging. All servants would have disappeared with a new position in other noble households, and the offending noble family was left with little to their name. It was terribly clever of them, and done so well that despite many attempts, no one had ever been able to link these raids to the Trevelyans. 

Knowing all that meant that Leliana had to observe him without any of the brothers suspecting anything. Fortunately for her, she was quite good at that. 

The first week he was there, Leliana watched his hands shake whenever he picked something up. His skin had almost a greyish sheen to it, and the desperate hunger in his eyes made her extremely wary. When he was given the amount of lyrium all former templars received, he looked a little better but his moods remained erratic. The one day he seemed normal, with stable moods and not looking so anxious like he usually did. He was unpredictable though, and that made him very dangerous.

The first part of her investigation required her talking with the former Knight Captain of Kirkwall. After they arrived in Skyhold, Leliana had been the one that initially spoke to Cullen and any former templars from Kirkwall that worked with Samson to put together a profile on him. She also found a few mages that Samson had helped after he was kicked out of the Order to interview. What she ended up with was a tragic profile on a what was once a good man. 

The mages that he helped in Kirkwall claimed he was the reason they escaped some horrific abuse, while the former templars that worked with him all claimed he was a good man. Varric and Hawke both confirmed that he was quite bitter toward the Chantry and bitter over his addiction to lyrium. 

Samson was exactly the excuse she needed to talk to Cullen about the symptoms of Lyrium addiction. Of course, Leliana had extensive notes on Cullen’s behavior, but the Commander was exceptional at hiding his suffering. Still, his hands would shake often, and she caught him having to step out of the room to hide fits of nausea. It would not be tactful of her in the least to ask about his withdrawal, but Cullen would certainly provide information if it gave them a better understanding of Samson.

It was that plan that had Leliana request a meeting with Cullen after dinner. The Inquisitor was due back the next morning, and the entire fortress was preparing for it, making it fairly easy for the two of them to have a meeting without disruption.

“Your information on Samson has given us quite a few leads on retracing his steps since Kirkwall.” Leliana handed him a few reports to read and made herself comfortable in the chair opposite from his at the desk. “We discovered that after the incident in the Gallows, he rounded up a few Templars to escape. So far, we believe that he joined Corypheus after the Conclave. The reports you have are any confirmed sightings of him we’ve managed to gather.”

Cullen stared at the reports grimly, shaking his head as he read through them. “I would never have expected Samson to turn to someone like Corypheus.”

Leliana shifted in her seat, carefully mulling over her words before she spoke them. “To get a better profile, it would help if I knew first hand what happens when you fully stop taking lyrium. That must have had an effect on Samson if he stopped for so long and now is in a suit of Red Lyrium.

The Commander froze for just a brief moment, shoulders stiff and jaw clenched. Leliana stayed calm, eyes soft when she met his sharp gaze. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but this information would help immensely, and I trust you more than anyone else to tell me the full truth.” Her musical voice was soothing, and genuinely sincere, despite the fact that her reason for the information was a half truth.

Cullen took a deep breath, sitting down in his desk chair. “At night is the worst. It’s difficult to calm your mind for sleep, and any sleep you do get is full of nightmares. Things you wished you could forget.” A haunted look crossed his tired eyes, the dark circles underneath them a testament to his words. “In the beginning, there were times I was convinced someone was a blood mage, or harboring one, even though it was ridiculous. I also thought that my need to stay off lyrium was undermined and it would be slipped into my food.”

She remembered when they were still at Haven, he refused to eat the communal dinner, always opting to make his own meal. 

“Time lost me for awhile. I will set aside my breakfast to catch up on some work, and before I realize it, afternoon had come and I still had the same work in front of me, having no idea what happened in that time.” Cullen looked up in time to see Leliana’s look of surprise. “That was the beginning. It hasn’t happened since the Conclave.”

Leliana glanced at his hands, which shook with tremors he was obviously trying to conceal. Cullen let out a dull laugh. “The shaking comes and goes as you see. Today it’s not too bad.” He rubbed the back of his neck, a tell of his whenever he felt particularly self conscious or uncomfortable. “Tempers become shorter. I remember seeing some of the calmest, even tempered people fly off the handle at any small infraction when their lyrium dosage was reduced. I see it with myself as well, and though I am much better at controlling it, there are some days when I just…” He trailed off, a faraway look entering his haunted gaze. 

She reached forward and placed her hand over his shaking forearm, smiling at him in that soothing comforting smile that only those closest to her were permitted to witness. “Thank you. You’ve been extremely helpful.” She squeezed his arm in comfort, standing up to make her leave.

A part of her did feel guilty for not being fully honest with him, but she had no choice. Had she told him she was investigating Frankie Trevelyan for what looked like a violent spiral into lyrium addiction, he would have felt obligated to inform Evelyn. Leliana couldn’t allow the Inquisitor to concern herself with this yet, and that would have put Cullen in a position to lie to her. She withheld the information for his own good.

She paused in the doorway, looking over her shoulder at the Commander staring hard at the table, hands still shaking. “You are not alone in this, Cullen. Josephine, Cassandra, and I support you in every way. And Evelyn is so proud of you. Do not forget that.” Closing the door softly behind her, she made her way back to the Grand Hall. 

Cullen had for the most part confirmed her suspicions about Frankie, and her gut told her that he was an extreme case. Even when Cullen had just stopped using lyrium, he never had the wild and desperate hunger in his eyes. Leliana never thought he was a danger to those around him either.

She made her way straight to Josephine, who kept all the supply ledgers in her office. One of the many reasons that Leliana approached Josephine for the position of Ambassador was because she had never come across anyone who was so detailed and organized. She had complete faith that all the ledgers on everything from supplies to food to crafting materials was up to date and accurate to the ounce. 

Still, if Frankie was stealing extra lyrium, the most logical place to check would be the Inquisition supplies. 

“Do you have a moment Josie?” Leliana casually walked into the office, dismissing the guard from the door on her way out.

Her pretty Antivan friend smiled widely at her, pushing the pile of papers to the side with a sigh. “Do I ever? I can make a moment though.” She offered her friend some tea from the little pot she kept by her desk, which Leliana happily accepted. 

“I was hoping to see the ledger on our lyrium supply,” She sipped her tea, leaning on the corner of the desk. 

“Of course.” The spark of curiosity was alive and well in Josephine’s gentle brown eyes, but at that point her friend knew better than to ask why. “Our lyrium supply lines have kept us well stocked, so much so that we no longer have to ration for the mages just so the templars will not suffer. Lord Thomas Trevelyan’s smugglers connections had added to the supply most generously.”

Leliana pulled the large leather bound book on her lap and went back to the week that the Trevelyan Brothers first arrived, ignoring Josephine’s curious glance. “And you’ve seen no discrepancies in the books?”

“Goodness, no! I keep close watch on all the ledgers and I personally sign off on them after Ser Morris goes over the inventory with me.” She looks scandalized by the very suggestion that one of the carefully calculated ledgers of the Inquisition would be anything other than accurate.

Leliana smiled temperately, patting Josephine’s arm soothingly. “I am not suggesting you didn’t do your job Josie, I merely looking into a few things.” She turned the page and her eyebrows quirked up. “I didn’t realize that we got so many recruits this week.”

Josephine leaned over her desk to look at the page. “Ah yes, that was a busy week. We received the recruits Prince Sebastian sent over from Starkhaven which had quite a few templars among them, and also the Templars that went into hiding in the Anderfels arrived within a day of each other.”

Leliana narrowed her eyes as she scanned the names, searching her memory to identify the background reports she collected on all new recruits. “Pass me a spare bit of paper please.”

Hastily, she copied all the names of the recruits on the paper, constantly cross checking the names with the background checks she ran in her mind. 

“Thanks Josie. I’ll let you know if I find anything.” She didn’t look up from the names, hurrying to the rookery while her mind worked the puzzle pieces of the situation.

~~

It was nearly midnight when Thomas Trevelyan opened the door to his bedroom. The room was usually cold after being empty majority of the day was warm from a blazing fire and lit up by a sparse few candles. The scent of Andraste’s Grace blossoms slipped through the scent of hot spiced wine. A smirk stretched across his lips. “Sister Nightingale. I see you made yourself at home.”

Leliana’s pretty face, partially obscured by the shadows, yet her eyes were as studious as ever. “I’ve always had a fondness for the decor of the Free Marches. And the furniture is as comfortable as Ferelden furniture but much more pleasing to the eye.” Her gloved fingers ran over the plush leather arms of the chair. 

Thomas casually hung up his cloak, picking up his pipe from the fireplace mantel and used one of the candles to light it. “I do like to bring a bit of home with me in my travels.” His steely green grey eyes coolly assessed the spymaster, taking a seat in the chair opposite of her.

“I take it you didn’t make your way here to talk about my choice in decor.” He took a long pull of the pipe, lightly laced with elfroot for a relaxing effect. 

Leliana took another sip of from her wine goblet, returning his calculating look with on of her own. “Whitlock Bartell, Johnny Durcey, Eric Gault, Arland Finet.” She studied his face for a reaction, which unsurprisingly did not betray anything.

“These recruits are all former templars listed as arriving a week after you did.” She placed the pages she copied from the supply ledgers in front of him. “According to our weapons and armor ledger, these men all arrived with their own supplies. The stipend log also lists them as receiving the agreed upon amount, and of course they all receive the lyrium they need to function.”

Through all that, the Trevelyan heir showed no sign of emotion or recognition. In fact, he did nothing other than casually smoke his pipe. It didn’t deter the Left Hand of the Divine though.

“Now, there would be no reason for these men to stand out. They are perfectly legitimate on paper. However, they missed a key part of the recruitment process.” She paused for a moment, the elder Trevelyan’s face unreadable. “All recruits are to check in with myself and my agents, providing us with all the information needed for a background check.”

“Well, that is certainly interesting,” Thomas said in a carefully drall and uninterested tone. “I suggest you speak to the agents involved in the recruiting process and clear up the mess.”

“Yes, that would be the thing to do. Yet here I am.” Leliana set her goblet down and reached for the papers. “How are your brothers adjusting to life in the Inquisition?”

Thomas glanced at her, expression perfectly neutral. “Quite well, though Eddie misses the woods quite a bit.”

“Mmm. I imagine his animals do as well. I see Frankie has been adjusting better as well. I was worried for a bit, templars without regulated lyrium have a difficult time getting on scheduled dose again. Yet your brother for the most part has improved quite a bit, give or take the odd bad day.”

Thomas stared straight ahead, taking an occasional long pull from his pipe and remaining silent. Leliana pushed the papers together in a neat pile and pushed them toward him, picking up her goblet.

He barely glanced at the papers, instead settled more back in his seat as if he was enjoying nothing more than a casual conversation. Leliana took a moment to admire just how apt he was in the Game. Marchers politics were much different than that of Orlais, but subterfuge and the art of politics were just as valued. Thomas Trevelyan played like a natural.

“What exactly is your purpose in bringing this to me, Leliana?” Thomas glanced at her evenly and emotionlessly. 

“As a courtesy mostly. You have been nothing but helpful in expanding my network and merging your connections with ours. Your name and position carries a lot of weight among the Marchers, and even among the Orlaisians and Fereldens. Your reputation also adds to that effect. Despite your initial feelings toward me, you have been nothing but civil and courteous. I shall treat you no differently.” Leliana picked up her wine goblet and settled back in the seat. “I am curious as to where the stipend paid to these imaginary men could have gone.”

Thomas casually shrugged. “I suspect that the money would have made it’s way back to the Inquisition somehow. Perhaps in the form of donations.”

“Mmm. You make a good point, it wouldn’t serve anyone to steal from the Inquisition.” She made a mental note to check the amounts in donations that they received in the last few months.

“How much lyrium does Frankie need at this point to function normally?” 

Thomas sighed, staring at the pipe in his hand. “He stopped using it regularly when he left the Templars, and then would take inconsistent doses. No one knew until his moods became more unstable than normal. Kenneth caught him meeting with a smuggler on the city docks.” He paused for a moment, taking another pull of his pipe. “He needs minimum for times the normal dose, but as of late I notice that it’s not always enough.”

Leliana sucked in a deep breath. The news was worse than she suspected. At the absolute worst, she thought he required a triple dose, and an extra one in case. This new piece of information would make things much more difficult.

“Have you tried weaning him off the doses?” 

“Yes. He nearly killed one of our servants the first time. The second time, we quarantined him to a room and tried to ease off little by little, and he nearly scratched his all the skin off his arm off. He had gotten to the point of regular doses though, but then after Haven fell…” Thomas trailed off, taking another pull. “He stopped monitoring doses like before, only added opiates and excessive drinking to his routine.”

The sinking feeling in her stomach worsened. Under the circumstances, Frankie was holding up better than Leliana would have thought.

“He’s stopped the opiates as far as I know, said he needed a clear head to be there for Evie. He refuses to wean off of the lyrium, said he needs to be at his best to help her.” 

“Mmm. And does Evelyn know about all this?”

For the first time since the beginning of their conversation, Thomas whipped his cold gaze at her. “No. And she’s not going to.”

“She is the Inquisitor-”

“And that’s exactly why she cannot know. Evie has the fate of the world on her shoulders, her life right now is hard enough. She needs to know that she can count on her family to support her. Right now, that is more important than anything else.”

Though his voice never raised in volume, the stubborn sharpness of his tone told Leliana that this was a fight she would most likely not win.

“Your sister is not a fool, nor is she blind. She will soon see that he is not well, and she will ask questions. And eventually, she will find out the truth. What then?”

“Then I will tell her it was my decision that she would not be told.”

“Evelyn will be furious and-”

“ _I know._ Better she be furious with me than with Frankie.”

Something in her gut had Leliana pause before she spoke, a curious and calculating expression formed on her face. “Why?”

Thomas turned his gaze away from her, taking another pull from his pipe, shoulders finally showing signs of tension. “When we found out Evelyn was a mage, I’m the one that pushed Frankie to join the Templars. We couldn’t let her into the Circle by herself, and I, as the heir apparent, was discouraged from joining. I convinced Frankie to join, I put him on this path.”

A cloud of smoke escaped his elegantly sharp lips, the room filled with the scent of tobacco and elfroot. “It is better she turn her anger to me over keeping her in the dark.” His gaze was now firmly on the crackling fireplace, while Leliana carefully studied his profile. 

Despite his coldness and emotionless approach to business, this was a man that loved his family beyond words. He took on all the pain and suffering onto himself if it meant keeping his family safe.

It was almost comical how similar he was to Evelyn in that regard, though the two of them were at each other’s throats more often than not. Leliana couldn’t deny that Thomas truly loved his siblings and would do anything to see them safe, even if it meant earning their scorn in the process. 

It was that train of thought that solidified Leliana’s next course of action. “I will adjust the doses for your brother… And I will let Evelyn figure it out without my help.”

Thomas turned his gaze back to her, usually callus green-grey eyes softened. “Thank you Sist- Leliana.”


	7. Reunion Interrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Almost three long months, Cullen had worried and waited for Evelyn to come back from the Western Approach. Their reunion, like most things, doesn't go as smoothly as he would have hoped.

With the Inquisition growing every day, it was rare that anyone had a moment for themselves. Cullen was one of the few people that actively looked for a way to keep busy. There was always something that needed to be addressed, and he never looked for a way to avoid it. Getting things prepared got them one step closer to taking down Corypheus and his supporters, and better prepared them to keep anything like what happened at Haven from ever happening again.

It also served to keep his mind off the lyrium withdrawal. He knew that he needed to pace himself more, but too often his mind would go to dark places when he had a moment, so he figured that it would be best to just work through it with work.

His favorite moment, though technically still considered work, was when he sat in the garden with a pile of missives from all their camps and fortresses all over Thedas and read through the reports.He enjoyed the chance to sit down and read through them thoroughly, specifically the status reports and letters sent in by the Inquisitor.

Cullen missed her when she went out on a mission, and constantly worried about her. Since that moment on the battlements a few months ago, his worrying intensified and he flat out demanded that she send him a weekly status report. 

The demand earned him a pretty smile and sparkling grey eyes lit with mirth, promising a very thorough weekly report.

Months after that conversation, he had a carefully folded and bound series of letters in the breast pocket of his cloak, all slightly worn from having been read several times. 

Evelyn wrote long and lovely letters, always attached to her initial reports and addressed specifically to him. Her writing was elegant, yet unpretentious, and it gave him a thrill whenever he saw his name scrawled across a neatly folded paper in the handwriting that has become so familiar to him. 

He set the day’s report aside and pulled out her latest letter.

> _To the most esteemed Commander of the Inquisition forces, Cullen Stanton Rutherford,_
> 
> _I would like to state on record that as soon as I get back to Skyhold, I will not leave the baths until the every grain of sand is gone from my hair. Washing in the oasis nearby works only until you step out of the water. Then a gust of wind blows and makes the whole ordeal useless. My time at the Western Approach has proven that I am not suited for the desert._
> 
> _Dorian hasn’t stopped complaining since we arrived, and has taken to constantly reminding me that I owe him more than I can give for asking him to come out here with me. He’s taken to wearing white armor and wearing his seer cowl to save his hair. Still, he is bearing the hot weather better than the rest of us. He said it was basically summer in Minrathous with less wine and less pretentious fountains._
> 
> _Everyone else is starting to get rather angry with one another. Cassandra and Varric have been each other’s throats more so than usual, and I got annoyed enough to order than both not to speak to each other unless absolutely necessary. Solas is miserable and sunburned. The heat from the sand blistered his feet so badly that he was finally convinced to put on a pair of boots. Thank the Maker Elle had the forethought to bring along her supply of burn balms and healing salve._
> 
> _Speaking of Elle, remind me why I thought it was a good idea to bring her and Blackwall along? I don’t understand what it is with those two, but they are like oil and water. Maker forbid anyone even hint at the Grey Wardens, it is like striking a match in a hayloft. Truth is, I think she misses the Iron Bull, and has been more irritable than usual as a result. I pleaded with her to not antagonize Blackwall, but she has barely been able to bite her tongue. It doesn’t help that Blackwall is talking about the heroic legacy of the Grey Wardens every chance he gets._
> 
> _Honestly, I think we are all sick of the Western Approach. I’ve closed all the rifts in the area, and as you well know Griffin Keep is ours. We closed the entrances to the Deep Roads, and even captured a new prisoner. Crassius Servis was found at Echoback Fort, and is a smuggler for the Venatori. We healed him as best as we could, but please have the healers at Skyhold look at him when he arrives with our agents, I’m afraid that my and Solas rift mage abilities were something he was quite unprepared to defend against._
> 
> _This will be my last letter from the Western Approach. We are tying some loose ends and then I already confirmed with Scout Harding that all of us are ready to go home. I actually miss the chilly Skyhold mornings and the windy nights. And of course, the residents of our lovely fortress. I do not mean my brothers._
> 
> _Do not let them give you a hard time. Thomas takes the whole ‘Heir to House Trevelyan’ bit so seriously and seems to think he has the right to run all my siblings lives. Please don’t let him intimidate you. I still wish you would tell me what you spoke of, but whatever it was please remember that I make my own decisions in all manners of my life._
> 
> _I look forward to seeing you. My evenings were lacking in garden strolls, fireside chats, and practicing my pitiful skill in chess. It isn’t as fun playing with Dorian, especially since he never lets me win like you do. Are you blushing? I can absolutely picture you denying it completely, yet I’ve seen you beat Leliana in less than four moves, and she is far more superior than myself in chess._
> 
> _Three weeks will pass soon, and I expect you to have the chessboard set up in anticipation for my arrival._
> 
> _Yours in friendship and affection,_
> 
> _Evelyn Trevelyan_

A little over two weeks had passed since he received the letter, and news of weather delaying their return was both frustrating and concerning. He knew that they passed safely through the war torn Dales, and Zevran sent word that he met up with them outside of Lydes on the Imperial Highway. They were due back a week ago, and with each passing day Cullen grew more anxious.

Cullen sat at the table in the garden, enjoying the early afternoon calm before everyone finished their dinners and Skyhold would be back to the usual hustle and bustle. He had the reports from the scouts in the Dales to read over, and really it was the only time he had to read them before he had to strategize with Leliana and Josephine and his lieutenants. 

“Commander Cullen.” He looked up to see the pleasantly smiling Scout Lace Harding approaching him, her arms full of additional missives. “I’m glad I found you. Here are the additional accounts on the Freeman of the Dales. I warn you now, Seamus Trevelyan’s handwriting is atrocious. I could just barely make it out.”

Cullen’s lips turned into a small smile. “Thank you Scout Harding, please just leave them here. I will get to them by the end of the day.”

“Take your time Commander,” she placed the missives in front of him. He nodded at her and looked back down at the report.

“Oh, and Commander.” He looked up at Scout Harding again, her smile still as pleasant as ever. “There is a message from the Inquisitor waiting in your office.”

“In my office? I specifically instructed that all correspondence from the Inquisitor be delivered directly to me.” His authoritative tone was tinged with annoyance. He had enough to do without running to his office for every message he received. 

Scout Harding held up her hands in defence. “Hey, I didn’t put the message there, I was just told to tell you about it.”

Cullen’s eyes narrowed as he stood up, angrily gathering his papers. “I will go and get it then. Now go and tell whoever told you to put the message in my office that I consider all correspondence from the Inquisitor to be top priority. I want it brought to me immediately.”

He was too busy gathering his papers to see the smile that flitted across the dwarf’s face. “At your order, Commander.”

His entire break in the afternoon was now spoiled, and his mood slightly soured, though he was grateful that Evelyn thought to send him some sort of message on her wellbeing.

Arms full of papers, he pushed his door open only to drop half his papers in surprise.

Right in front of him stood the Inquisitor, dressed in her favorite silk blue tunic that she often wore around Skyhold. 

Her hair looked freshly washed and pulled back in her sensible bun, though unruly strands of curls still escaped and framed the delicate face that soothed his horrible dreams. Large grey eyes were lit up in soft affection, and her smile was so sweet and bright that Cullen froze in a trance. 

“Surprise!” Evelyn said softly, smoothing out the front of her tunic. 

That little word knocked Cullen out of his revere. He dropped the rest of his papers on the ground and it took only three strides to be close enough to grab her in his arms. He smiled at the soft noise she made when he wasted no time claiming her lips.

Cullen had planned for their reunion to be a bit more proper, but after months apart, to see her standing in front of him, his office filled with the addictive scent of roses and honey, he couldn’t even think straight. All he knew was that he missed this sweet woman more than he realized, and had no problem expressing it.

She tasted as sweet as she smelled, and for a few delicious moments, all his problems and stresses were erased. One hand clutched her hip close and the other cupped the back of her neck. He relished the feeling of her arms wrapped around his neck, hold insistant and gentle.

“Maker did I miss you.” He murmured against her lips, not ready to let her go. “Welcome home.”

He felt her smile, her arms tightened around his neck. “I missed you too, but this welcome was certainly worth waiting for.” 

Cullen took his time pulling away from her. It frightened him just how right everything felt with her. When he was near her, it was home; something he had not felt for a long time.

“When did you get back? Why did no one tell me you returned?” He brushed his gloved thumb against her freckled cheek. Her normally delicate pale skin showed evidence of her time in the sun by the sheer amount of freckles that had certainly multiplied. 

“We came with the supply caravans right during dinner. I told gave the orders not to alert anyone of our arrival. I wanted to surprise you.” Evelyn smiled so sweetly that it shot like an arrow through all the walls he built up and right into his heart. Maker, he was a lost cause.

“This is the best surprise I ever had.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, resting his lips there for a moment. “I still wish I knew. I was worried you know.” 

“I know. We ran into some bad storms, and there were so many bandits that we were nearly overwhelmed. It was fortunate we ran into the Valos-Kas and Zevran when we did.” She slipped her arms from his neck to around his waist, leaning tiredly against him. “It was a good idea to hire them, they are some of the fiercest fighters I’ve ever seen.”

She nestled her head under his chin, the exhaustion in her voice prominent in her soft voice. She had been traveling for a long time, and Cullen was happy to let her lean on him. He rubbed his hand over her back soothingly. 

“Most everyone who came with me went right to wash up and rest. Dorian took over my bathtub, declaring it his compensation for me forcing him to ruin his new boots. Hopefully we have some time before the whole fortress realizes we’ve returned.” Evelyn nuzzled the crook of his neck, and just like that, any and all the endless work he had was completely forgotten.

“Are you sure you don’t want to rest too? You’re exhausted.” He felt her shaking her head before he even finished the sentence. 

“No. There is no telling how long I have before news spreads that we arrived and then everyone will be wanting to see me. Including my family. I want some time with just us.” She shifted a little to lean against him more comfortably as he moved to lean on his desk. “Tell me everything that I missed that you didn’t include in your letters. Please.”

So he did. He told her of how Sera got permanently banned from the kitchen only for all the brussel sprouts in the fortress ending up in various places throughout Skyhold. He also told her all about how Vivienne put in extensive orders for making the Throne Room as grand as possible, nearly causing poor Josephine to faint when she saw the cost.

Cullen told her all about how Iron Bull had helped him set up a fighting ring in the courtyard that became the nightly entertainment for the soldiers. Any soldiers that had disputes on the battlefield worked out their frustrations in bare knuckle fighting. No weapons, no traps, not magic, just plain old skin on skin fighting. It proved to be a good way to get the mages and templars to work out their frustration on even ground. It became so popular that it now made up majority of the evening entertainment, with bets being placed on the fighters.

Evelyn groaned at that. “Kenneth probably has no more shirts left.” 

He laughed. “I confess, I’ve seen him running through the courtyard with bare legs and covered in a cloak at least twice.” 

She made a whining sound and pressed her face to his shoulder. “I can just hear the town crier in Val Royeaux now; ‘Inquisitor Trevelyan’s brother jailed for dueling men while wearing only a cloak and boots.” 

“I don’t even think he had his boots on.”

Evelyn did laugh at that, her delicate frame shaking against his body. He hated that his armor prevented him from feeling her soft frame against him more fully.

“Andraste preserve us all then.” Her delicate hands settled themselves inside the ridges on the lining of his armor, squeezing him tight. “I suppose I should be grateful that you prepared me for the changes, though I’m less grateful for the mental images.” He felt her lips on his neck as she spoke, breathing in that addictive scent he missed so much

Cullen was getting dizzy, and this time it had nothing to do with withdrawal symptoms. All those months worrying about her, waiting to hear from her, and reading and re-reading her letters, and now she was finally right there, and he was holding her just as he imagined he would for months.

He brought a hand up to her delicate chin. “Allow me to give you a new image then.” He loved the heated flash of delight that sparked in her warm dove grey eyes before he covered her full petal soft lips with his own. Evelyn’s arms wove around his neck and he instantly pressed her closer.

More often than not, he wondered what he could have possibly done to deserve this sweet woman’s affection. He still couldn’t believe that she felt the same, and he refused to take it for granted. The Maker certainly had a sense of humor though, for the only woman he had ever met to enrapture him to such a degree was a mage. 

Oddly enough, it didn’t matter to him. If anything, it added to her appeal. When they first met, it frustrated him to no end that she refused to believe that the Circles were necessary. She was quick to bring out to most controversial elements of the Circle to quickly squash any argument, including asking him how he would feel if he learned his siblings or any children he may have would be taken away from him to live in the Circle and he would never see them again. While he argued that it was necessary for their safety and those around him, he found that the argument didn’t hold as strong as it once did. Evelyn was insistent that mages kept their freedom, and when she kept the Mage Rebels on as allies, they got into an argument that he was sure everyone in Haven had heard. 

They may never fully agree on that, but he didn’t care. Cullen would happily argue with her about this for a long time. Especially if they ended arguments in their current position. 

Never moving his mouth away from hers, his hands moved down to her slender waist, hoisting her up on to the desk and standing comfortably between her legs.

Everything from her soft sighs to the gentle, but unrelenting movement of her luxuriously soft lips became the center of his mind. He was careful to not let things go too far, lest he get carried away for something she was not ready for, but Maker it was tempting.

Cullen was content. His hand moved to the back of her head, intent on taking her long hair out of the bun. He had only seen it down once before, after he carried her half frozen body to camp, and longed to see it under more pleasant circumstances.

And of course, that was when his door burst open.

“EVIE! YOU’RE BACK!”

Evelyn instantly pulled away, incredulous look taking over her delicate features. “Merciful Andraste, are you kidding me?!” Seamus and Kenneth stood in the doorway, smug as ever.

“Whoa. Big sister, are you taking advantage of the Commander of the Inquisition?! You little harlot.”

“Now, now, brother, harlot is only appropriate if her clothes would have been off.”

“Then we came just in time.”

Cullen’s annoyance was evident on his face, but he bit his tongue. Evelyn had no trouble handling her brothers.

Her arms dropped from around his neck and he took a step away from her, growing more annoyed by the second.

“How did you find out I came back? That I was here?!”

Seamus scoffed, strolling into the office like he was meant to be there. “Like no one is going to notice the Inquisitor arriving. Being that we could hear Dorian practicing for his new role in the Orleasian Opera in your quarters, this place was the next obvious choice. And we were right!”

Kenneth plopped himself right next to Evelyn on his desk, knowing smirk on his face. “We missed you tons and tons. Did you miss us Evie? Bet you did. Although I think you missed the Commander more right?” He waggled his eyebrows at the couple.

Cullen’s scowl deepened.

Evelyn’s normally soft dove grey eyes were steely with annoyance, her dusty pink lips pulled in a frown. “As a matter of fact I did. You can leave now.”

“Leave? Why in Andraste would we leave?! I quite like it here, the Commander’s office is so cozy and private, isn’t it Seamus?” Kenneth crossed his legs, making himself right at home.

“Oh yes perfect place to hide away, if you don’t account for the fact that three doors need to be locked in order to do that.” Seamus picked up the little statue of a lion and turned it over. “Before we go any further, I need someone to answer me one question.”

He paused and waited till all eyes were on him before he spoke again. “Since Evie is the Inquisitor and Cullen is technically an advisor, is he advising our sweet and innocent little sister to let herself be sullied and-”

“GET OUT!” 

Cullen couldn’t take it anymore, and the yell made all three of the Trevelyans jump in surprise. “GET OUT OF MY OFFICE RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR ON THE MAKER I WILL HAVE YOU BOTH LOCKED UP IN THE DUNGEONS FOR THE NIGHT!” He was seething in frustration at having the long awaited reunion with Evelyn be interrupted. 

Seamus took a moment to compose himself before he took a dramatic stance, hand over heart. “Why Commander, don’t you want-”

“OUT! NOW!” He was at this point ready to draw his sword on them.

Seamus flipped his hair back dramatically. “I see how it is. Come brother, we know when we’re not wanted.”

Kenneth sniffed in disdain, holding his head high in an entirely grandiose manner.

The two brothers linked arms, and with the most pompous expression they could muster, walked with an obnoxiously self-important air out the door.

Cullen slammed the door behind them, bolting it closed the second it shut, and then making his way to the others doors to bolt them shut as well. 

He leaned his weight against the hands he had planted at the door, taking deep breaths to control his temper, and feeling slightly bad that he may have frightened Evelyn, or offended her by yelling at her brothers.

At least he felt bad until he heard her giggle. The soft giggle soon turned into the full musical laugh that always made him smile when he heard it.

Cullen looked over his shoulder just as he felt her slender arms wrap around him from behind, her body still shaking with laughter. “Maker’s blood! You handle my brothers far better than I ever did.”

“Well, I am Commander for a reason you know.” He took her arm and gently brought her in front of him, leaning her against the door. Her smile and the mischievous playful spark in those gentle grey eyes were the delicious combination that brought him out of even the darkest of places.

Evelyn wove her arms around his neck again, smile widening when he pressed his forehead against hers. “Of course. At your order, Commander.” 

His grin matched hers only for a moment, as his lips were once again occupied.

Now that was exactly the reunion he had in mind.


	8. Like It Should Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dorian and Evelyn were inseparable from practically the moment they met. Now with her brothers in the Inquisition, how does he fit into her life in and out of the Inquisition?

There was an unspoken rule that Dorian Pavus had ever since he met Evelyn Trevelyan: wherever she was, he was never far away. 

It was unusual for a man such as himself to feel such a strong attachment to anybody really. His family dynamics had left him with little trust, and his betrayal by both his father and Alexius ran deep. He never cared for any of his high society Tevinter acquaintances, and really his only other friend ever was Felix. 

Dorian will never forget the strange feeling that overcame him when he first spoke to Evelyn in the Redcliffe Chantry. It was a curious feeling, and almost overwhelmed him. It was an attraction of a sort, but not a lustful one. It was a type of pull, like he knew this was a person he was meant to have in his life. Their first conversation, albeit a serious one, flowed so well that for the first time he felt eager to see a woman again for nothing more than the joy of speaking to her.

It was plainly obvious after literally going through the worst case scenario together when they were thrown forward in time, that a strong bond had formed between the two mages. He had felt so sick to the stomach with leaving her behind in Haven, that Dorian found himself praying for the first time in a long time. He will never be able to describe the relief he felt when Cullen walked down toward camp carrying a half frozen but very much alive Evelyn. 

And so the infamous friendship between the two grew. In only a matter of months, everyone in Skyhold and beyond knew that no matter where the Inquisitor went, the ‘Tevinter Magister’ (Maker, how that annoyed him) was always nearby. Dorian wouldn’t have it any other way. 

He would never have been able to confront his father without her, and for the first time in his life he felt what it was like to have someone’s unwavering support. She held him up when he needed it the most, a luxury he never had in his oh so privileged life. 

Evelyn stood by him, gently pushed him to not leave his father without a backward glance, her soft soothing voice telling him that he would always wonder if he didn’t at least listen. As difficult as it was to hear his father out, he was glad for it. Sure, he had to drag Evelyn out to get stupid drunk in order to admit it, but he was grateful he listened to her.

They never tired of each other’s company. He adored their long afternoons in the library, reading tomes of magic and research on ancient magical texts. He loved to lounge on the sofa in her sleeping quarters while she read out loud correspondences with various nobles and the occasional marriage proposal. Dorian took great fun in helping her pen some rather questionable responses that made Josephine nearly lose her mind when she got wind of their scheme.

When Evelyn’s brothers came to Skyhold, he had no idea what to think or do. Their accusations against him and the rest of the Inner Circle cut deep, and though he brushed it off to everyone else, it angered him. The only reason he held it in was because he refused to add any more grief to Evelyn’s life than she already had. 

Despite the tense beginning, Dorian made an effort to get to know the people that loved her as much as he did. As much as Evelyn liked to complain about her brothers, he knew that she utterly adored them. 

“So,” Seamus sat in a way that greatly resembled the dangerously casual pose that Thomas Trevelyan and Leliana had adopted, though Seamus was obviously mocking them. “You intend to have us believe that though you and our sister are practically attached to the hip, sometimes share a tent, sleeping quarters, and someone even told me you took a bath together, you are absolutely not romantically involved?” The youngest Trevelyan tapped his fingers together in what Dorian was sure was meant to be a sinister manner.

Dorian waved him off in his typical nonchalant fashion. “Believe what you want, I certainly have no problem in being rumored as the dashing lover of the Herald of Andraste, Leader of the Inquisition. I’ve certainly been called worse,” He motioned for the barmaid to bring them another round. “Imagine the stories that will come of it! History may know me as Inquisitor Trevelyan’s favored and most handsome lover, confidante, and companion.”

He watched Seamus exchange a look with Frankie, Eddie and Kenneth. Thomas stared at him in that unsettling emotionless gaze that he never seemed to leave his face, saying nothing. 

Eddie had a serene smile on his face and leaned over to whisper something to the younger two brothers. By the wide eyed look of realization that passed over their eyes, Dorian could guess exactly what they were told.

“Right then, good. Yea.” Kenneth rambled, raking a hand through the mop of curls. “This is exhausting. Evie needs less friends.” 

Dorian scoffed. “Look around you. Our dear Evie takes in anyone. She has a Tevinter Mage in the same place as a former Qunari spy, a Wildling elf, the First Enchanter, and a Seeker. She’s not picky for allies.”

Frankie’s scoff mirrored Dorian’s. “Maybe she should be, then maybe we wouldn’t have to worry about no one here having her back.” 

Honestly, Dorian tried. He really did. After weeks of mistrustful looks and snide comments, he wasn’t willing to ignore them anymore. “Perhaps if you hadn’t taken your sweet time joining her in Haven, you would have done better.” His arrogant tone managed to be both casual and accusing, an art picked up by many nobles. “As it is, I have risked my life for that girl time and again side by side in battle, and until you can say the same, I really have no interest in your accusations or insinuations.” 

The brothers were stone silent for a time, and of all people it was Thomas whose lips cracked into a smile. “Our sister warned us about you.” He grabbed the full bottle of wine the barmaid brought over and filled first Dorian’s glass than his own. “Family means everything to the Trevelyans. You saved her when you were thrown forward in time, risked your life for someone you barely knew. It may not excuse the failure of Haven, but you are loyal to her.”

Dorian preened, taking a sip of the barely adequate wine served in the Herald’s Rest. “Coming from you, I just feel all warm and soft on the inside.”

“That’s probably the wine.” Seamus quipped with the most dashing smile.

That was his first one on five interaction with all the brothers together, just weeks after their arrival. It went rather well, especially considering that Thomas’s and Frankie’s cold and hostile welcoming with just about everyone else in the fortress. 

Since then, he had found himself being accepted in the tight knit circle of the Trevelyans, and was well aware that part of the reason was to keep an eye on him and judge him accordingly. 

Still, he couldn’t help himself fall for the Trevelyan charm, so to speak. It didn’t take long for him to join Kenneth and Seamus in the tavern on a regular basis, and even found himself partaking in a game of draughts or chess against Thomas. Frankie had nothing but distrust toward him, and not bothering to hide his disdain for the ‘Vint’. Eddie goaded him in the **worst** possible way. Dorian would wake up and find one of those mangy mutts in his room, somehow getting past several locks and a ward, and they would be chewing on one of his boots, or his favorite comb. It was an outrage on every level.

Yet there were days in Skyhold's when he would be lounging in Evelyn’s room, leaning against one end of her sofa with her on the other, surrounded by the rest of the Trevelyan’s, and it felt as close to family that he had felt in a very long time. 

“Can you stop playing that damn lute, Golden Boy? My head hurts.” Frankie moaned, spread out all over the end of Evelyn’s bed. 

“That’s just your brain trying to comprehend it’s own stupidity.” Seamus retorted using his lute to shield himself from the oncoming pillow, snickers echoing throughout the room. 

“If any of my pillows end up over my balcony, I am personally replacing it with one from your room,” Evelyn retorted with a smile, never looking up from the stack of papers on her lap. She handed the top letter to Dorian to look over. Her bare feet that rested on his lap served as a prop to hold up the long scroll. 

“The Arl of Redcliffe is being absolutely unreasonable with his requests. He was the one who let himself be marched out of his own hold, and instead of taking responsibility for the fact that his guards were too weak to keep order, he hoists it on you,” Dorian sneered in disgust at the letter. The more privy he was to the politics of being the Inquisitor, the more ridiculous he found it all to be. Fortunately for him it was more entertaining, whereas Evelyn found it nothing but frustrating.

“I am not comfortable giving money to Redcliffe. Josephine wrote in the notes that we could take a loan out, but I prefer to use the money for our men and our cause.” She mumbled, chewing gently on the end of her quill. Frankie and Seamus continued to bicker in the background.

Dorian read over the request again, amused at the arrogance of the Arl. “It is not as if they do not have the money in the treasury to cover any damages. Redcliffe is supposed to be one of the wealthiest Arlings in Ferelden.” He passed the letter to Thomas, who sat at the table next to the couch. 

The eldest Trevelyan scanned the letter, completely ignoring the raunchy tavern song about rolling legs over that Seamus was singing to be obnoxious and annoy Frankie, his expression as blank as ever. “Will you be sending in the soldiers to help with the reparations, as per Commander Cullen’s suggestion?” 

It amused Dorian to no end that Thomas outright refused to be refer to his sister’s love interest in anything other than a formal manner. 

“Yes. I won’t send funds when we desperately need them here.” Evelyn’s nose scrunched in annoyance at whatever she was penning on the parchment.

“Good. Repairs in Skyhold still need- Kenneth, I saw that. Put it back.” 

Dorian looked up in time to see Kenneth sheepishly putting the silver candlestick holder back on Evelyn’s desk. Thomas and Evelyn both had an unnatural talent to see everything without looking away from their work. 

“She has two others here, and I owe Varric.” Kenneth pushed the mop of curls out of his face. “Besides, Eddie’s dog is chewing on the chair leg and you aren’t giving Eddie crap about it.”

Eddie glanced up from his spot in the in the doorway to the balcony, the toothpick he always seemed to chew on flicking up with the scowl of his lips. “I brought that chair from the tavern, and it’s broken anyway cause someone thought it would be a good idea to challenge the Iron Bull in a drinking contest.” He glared pointedly at Frankie. “That was an idiotic move by the way. I don’t blame Elle one bit for being pissed off at you both.” 

“Fuck you man,” Frankie retorted loudly to drown out Seamus’s singing. “He could have said no, I didn’t force anyone into anything.”

“No, you only goaded him and he did what he had to do to get you to shut up, especially since you already had one too many.” Evelyn’s gentle voice had a bite to it whenever she scolded her brothers. “I was there too, Frankie. And you really should apologize, you were being belligerent and rather rude to Iron Bull.” She handed Dorian the parchment she was working on. “Check this please.” 

Dorian rested parchment on her feet, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Yes Inquisitor,” he said with grandiose, earning a delicate foot digging into his side. 

Frankie scoffed, reaching up to tug his hair out of habit, as he had freshly shaved it earlier that day. “Gimme a fucking break, it was just good natured shit talking.”

Eddie scoffed. “Yea, shit talking that didn’t start until Elle got there and climbed all over him.”

Seamus had stopped singing at that point, and had no problem chiming in. “Yea Frankie, you could try and be a bit less obvious, it’s kinda sad.”

Dorian was not prepared for Frankie standing up on the bed and launching himself at Eddie. “I will beat your face into the ground.”

And just like that, in the middle of Evelyn’s sleeping chambers, a brawl broke out between Frankie, Eddie, and Seamus. The three were rolling around on the floor lost in series of punches and kicks. What’s more, Kenneth suddenly stood on a chair, and dived into the fight, screaming like a savage. The room was suddenly filled yelling, dogs barking, and the sound of fists hitting flesh.

Of all that, the thing that surprised him the most is that neither Thomas nor Evelyn looked up from their work, continuing on as if there weren’t four grown men, and now two dogs, fighting in the middle of the room. 

“I expect each of you to replace anything you break,” Evelyn called out, never taking her eyes off the paper. Dorian looked incredulously between her and Thomas’s calm and nonchalant demeanor to the insanity in front of them. 

“I take it there is nothing unusual about this then?” Dorian asked, marveling at home Evelyn quickly threw up a shield charm to avoid being hit by Seamus’s lute. 

“That’s my lute asshole!” Seamus yelled and threw a punch right in Kenneth’s face, who was just tackled by one of the dogs. At this point it was difficult to tell who was fighting who, and why. 

Evelyn glanced up at Dorian with a small smile, shrugging her delicate shoulders. “You’ll get used to it. Will you pass this to Thomas?”

Despite all he had seen since joining the Inquisition, this was possibly one of the most bizarre moments of his life.

Yet, as Dorian took in the scene around him, a strange part of him felt a warmth he had not felt in years. This was Evelyn’s family, and she had brought him into the horde. Despite how different he was from all of them, it felt right, which was a nice feeling considering his own family issues.

He beat Evelyn to a shield charm when a chair leg went flying in their direction, and the two exchanged a smile before both getting back to their work.

Dorian could definitely get used to this.


End file.
